Moments of Infinity
by bamboo72498
Summary: Collection of non chronological one-shots expanding on the 'Five Little Monkeys' world. Written for the Castle Winter Ficathon 2015. Cover art credit to Angie (@Dtrekker on Twitter) Rating changed to T for minor language and sexual situations.
1. A normal Morning

Kate slaps at her alarm clock, angry at it for waking her up at this ungodly hour. She lays there for a few minutes more, slowly coming out of Dreamland and into the Land of the Living. She rolls over to look at her still sleeping husband, mad at him for getting to stay home all day and have the luxury to sleep in.

Of course she knows how lucky their family is: that one of their kids' parents are there (nearly) every day when they get home from school to help them with homework or rush them out to various activities and doctors' appointments. Sure she gets to do that too, but sometimes that green monster of jealousy rears its head and makes her want to just stop going into work and stay home with her fastly growing kids. But then it passes and she realizes she loves the life they're leading right now. It works for them.

After a hot shower, which was momentarily interrupted as one, or more, of her kids got into their own morning showers, Kate feels more alive. Now, if only she could get some coffee in her body; that would wake her up even more.

She lets her wet hair fall down her back as she puts on underwear and slathers her body with lotion; water from her hair dripping down her back sends chills up and down her spine. Kate blow dries her hair and puts on make up before turning to the closet and pulling out an outfit: a simple white Oxford shirt and black slacks.

"Are you going to get up?" Kate asks her still sleeping husband as she leaves the bathroom. He grunts and rolls over, smashing his face into his pillow.

"Alright," Kate sighs. "Remember Finn has therapy this afternoon, you said you'd take her. But if you don't think you'll be able too, I can try and get out."

Rick sighs loudly, turning back over. He squints his eyes against the light emanating from the bathroom. "No, I can take her," he coughs, his voice scratchy with sleep.

"Great," Kate smiles, bending down to kiss him. "Go back to sleep; we'll be out of your hair soon. Love you," she says, walking out of their bedroom.

She narrowly misses stepping on the cat's tail, but luckily the smart animal moved at just the right time. "Sorry, Minnie," Kate says, taking the first stair and watching the tiger cat run away to find a new place to sleep.

[] []

Two of her kids are in the kitchen getting ready for their day: Austin is spreading mayonnaise on his sandwich, and Danielle is sitting at the breakfast bar scooping up bite after bite of cereal. Kate expertly maneuvers around her youngest son and flips on the coffee maker.

"Hi, momma," Austin says, looking at her from the corner of his eye as he finishes making his lunch.

"Morning, buddy," Kate says, kissing her sons temple. "Have you eaten anything?"

"No," Austin sighs, slapping his sandwich together and sticking it into a Ziploc bag and into his lunch box.

"Are you going too?" Kate asks, getting her own breakfast together as she waits for the coffee to finish.

"Maybe," the seventh grader shrugs.

Kate sighs and sticks another English muffin into the toaster for Austin, while the boy goes to the fridge and pours himself a cup of milk and takes it to the bar, starting to sip at it.

"I had absolutely _nothing_ to wear," Miyana announces, striding into the kitchen, her black ballet flats moving on the hardwood almost silently. Mia takes her backpack from where it was leaning against the wall across from the stairs and plops it onto one of the bar stools, moving around the room collecting her books.

"You wear a uniform, I thought that was supposed to end the 'nothing to wear' argument?" Kate asks, handing the muffin topped with peanut butter and jelly across the bar to Austin, looking up to Miyana. She's dressed in a light purple polo shirt and khaki pants; her long chocolate brown hair side braded a la Katniss Everdeen.

"It's supposed too," Mia says, raising her eyebrows. "But everything just seemed so _boring_ today; it was hard to create an outfit, hopefully this looks okay."

"Why do you care what anyone thinks?" Austin asks his sister, following a bite with a long swig of milk.

"I don't, much," Mia retorts, heading for the fridge.

"Did anyone let the dogs out?" Kate asks, taking the last empty seat at the bar, one foot on the cross bar, the other curled around one of the legs.

"I did," Danielle says, standing up from her seat, going to set her bowl in the sink.

Just then, the afore mentioned dogs start scratching at the door to be let in, and Dani crosses the room and opens the door for them. The two animals: a brown and white Basset Hound named Clue whom they adopted from a shelter three years ago, and a black and brown Yorkshire terrier named Sawyer who was Miyana's tenth birthday gift, race in, tracking snow behind them.

"Sawyer! Clue! Come here," Danielle quickly calls them back; grabbing an old towel off the back of one of the kitchen table chairs and uses it to dry off the dogs before sending them off. She stands, pushing her loose blonde hair out of her face, heading to the front room for her backpack and cheer bag. She checks both before returning to the kitchen and sets her lime green backpack on the barstool she previously occupied, and dropping the black duffle bag with her cheerleading things in it to the floor.

The quiet morning is ruined by Liam running into the kitchen, sliding on his socked feet, hiding behind the bar; Finn right on his heels.

"Liam! Give that back! Please!" She shouts, chasing after her brother. He's holding a stapled packet of paper in his hands, and is obviously holding it hostage from Finn.

"No way! I have to read it first!" He teases, holding out the pages dramatically in front of his face. "Let's see," he begins, "'Chapter One: Down a Rabbit hole. Lauren leapt across the bright green grass, the piano music flo-"

"Okay! That's enough! You guys are going to wake your dad up." Kate shouts, taking the packet from her son and laying it on the counter behind her. "What is this?"

"It's a story we had to write for Language Arts. It's due today and Liam took it off the printer!" Finn says, stepping out as if to hit her brother.

"Okay! Stop." Kate places a hand on Finns shoulder, holding her back and trying to calm her down.

"Come on! It was just a joke!" Liam laughs, a smirking smile covering his face. Just like his father.

"No!" Kate lays into Liam, her voice low and sharp, jaw set. "That is _never_ a joke; even if you meant it to be. To your sister this is something very important and personal. You don't touch her, or any of your siblings', things without their permission, okay?"

When she doesn't get a response right away, Kate moves into Liam's line of sight some more. "Okay?"

"Okay," Liam answers, his eyes dark in the kitchen light.

"Okay," Kate nods. "Apologize then go finish getting ready," she instructs, walking away from the siblings. "One morning. Just want one morning where there are no fights," she mutters under her breath as she gets her own bag ready to go.

[] []

Miyana drops her backpack into the trunk, making sure it is arranged just so before turning to retrieve her sisters' bag, setting in a similar manner next to hers.

"Do you want me to-" Mia asks, waving at her sister's walker. Normally it's Finn's responsibility to get her walker into and out of the car, but when someone offers to do it for her, she doesn't decline. Let someone else get their fingers pinched for a change.

"Yeah, thanks," Finn smiles, leaning onto the car for support as she hands over the metallic green walker. Liam appears behind her as she turns to get in and Finn simply shoots him a dirty look and shoves past him, still mad over their fight.

"What is her problem?" Liam asks, handing over his book bag.

"You," Mia says taking the blue bag and dropping it onto the pile carelessly.

"Me? Why? What did I do?"

"You were a jerk to her. You knew full and well you shouldn't touch her stuff, but you did. Why? Just to get a rise out of her? To see her reaction? Because you thought it was funny? Not cool." Liam steps back as Mia closes the hatchback.

"Come on, guys! Get in!" Kate says, shutting the garage door behind her and stepping down the wooden stairs. The two seventh graders hurry inside, but unfortunately for Liam: Mia gets in the back seat before him and shuts the door leaving him the passenger seat.

Like most kids their age: the front seat is coveted and constantly fought over. Sitting there means you are in control of the radio (unless mom or dad take control first), and get a seat warmer in the winter. But on this particular day the front seat with the furthest away they could put Liam from them as their grudge continued.

Danielle and Austin could care less. They were in the third row next to opposite windows, sweatshirt hoods up over their ears, lost in their iPod still half asleep. It was Miyana and Finn who had banded together against their brother.

Turning off their street and onto the main road, Miyana finally speaks up. "Put on 99.9," she requests, not wanting to listen to her brother's choice. Liam complies, trying to get back into good graces with his sisters.

"… _Let's listen to the newest single from Lauren Eve and we'll be back with The Good, the Bad and the Gossip, right here on My 99.9!"_ The DJ, Johnjay, announces as his voice fades into the pop music.

They listen to the morning radio show all the way to school and through the wait in the drop-off line. When their turn comes, Liam is the first to hop out. He runs to the trunk and drag out Finn's walker, bringing it to her door.

Kate can't hear what Liam tells her, but she clearly hears Finn's snapped reply. "I could have done it." The mom sighs to herself, letting the siblings hash it out knowing that by that night or the next morning, everything will be fine with them.

"Bye! I love you!" Kate calls.

"Bye mom!" Liam says, ducking into the still open door. "Love you."

"Love you bud. Be good today."

"I will." And then he was gone, racing up the sidewalk to his friends.

"Bye momma. Have a good day," Danielle says to her, crawling through the middle seats, stopping to kiss her temple before getting out.

"Bye Dani."

After all the kids have gone into school, or joined up with friends out in the courtyard, and Kate has the chance to move, she follows the five cars in front of her through the right turn onto the busy morning road.

A minute later she's stuck behind a soccer mom who _really_ needs to learn to drive, and her cell phone rings. She sighs out a breath and answers on the third ring.

"Beckett!"


	2. Welcome Little Stranger

The first text message comes in just after eleven that night. It hits both Rick and Kate's cellphones at nearly the same moment; mere seconds separate when each receives the text. They have been included in a group family chat that the message is attached too, along with Max's mom, dad, older brother, younger sister and a handful of both Alexis and Max's closest friends.

Rick looks away from the cooking show he's watching and, after unlocking his phone, reads the message before it is quickly swallowed up by excited replies from the others included in the conversation.

 _Heading to the hospital.  
Alexis water broken.  
Contractions every 8 or 9 mins._

Smiling, he sends words of love and support from their family before standing and turning off the TV. He closes up the house for the night: turning off lights and making sure the alarms are set and then climbs the stairs to bed.

An hour later, another message comes in.

 _Checked into the hospital._

 _Getting epidural soon._

 _Both mom and baby are doing fine._

No one slept much after that; they were just too anxious and excited.

By three in the morning Alexis was dilated to a seven and was trying to sleep as much as she could. Max was complaining that the chair the hospital gave him to sleep on was almost as bad as the bed in his dorm in college. But all his complaints were joking and didn't have much heat behind them.

Just before five, things were getting set up so Alexis could start pushing. Everyone waited with huge butterflies in their stomachs for the arrival announcement.

And at 6:26 in the morning on December 13th, Baby Girl Foster entered the world. Weighing in at six pounds three ounces and eighteen inches long, she was a tiny little thing, but absolutely perfect.

No name was announced for her yet, but that didn't matter once pictures began being posted. The tiny nose; her precious little hands and feet. So sweet.

[] []

Later that morning as Rick and Kate got their own kids ready for school, they shared smiles over that mornings events.

"So guess what happened really early this morning?" Kate asked at the breakfast table, a cup of steaming coffee in her hand.

"What?" The kids asked, looking up at her.

"Alexis had her baby," She answered, her smile stretching ear to ear.

"Really!?" Liam was the first to jump up and come to his mom's side.

"Really," Kate answers, unlocking her cell phone and pulling up the first photos of the infant.

"Oh my gosh!" Liam squeals, jumping up and down with excitement.

"I want to see!" four other people call out, and so the phone gets passed around the table, with nearly the same reaction from the other quintuplets.

"She's so cute!" It's the general consensus around the table and Kate has to agree with her kids.

"What's her name?" Danielle asks, sitting up on her knees.

"We don't know yet. Alexis and Max are keeping it a secret.

"How come they didn't tell us?" Austin inquires. "We can keep a secret!"

"Because," Kate laughs, "it's their secret to have, not yours." The boy doesn't like that answer and pouts for a while. "Mia," Kate says, getting her daughter's attention.

"What?" The kindergartener answers, pushing her bangs out of her eyes.

"Guess what time the baby was born?"

"What?" She's smiling now.

"Six Two Six" Kate answers, smiling as it takes Miyana a minute to think about what that means.

"Stitch!" The girl cheers.

Kate had picked up on that ironic number since she read the announcement message. Of course Baby Girl was born at 6-2-6. Stitch had held a special place in Miyana's heart since the child was tiny; it was just fate the new baby was born with Stitch's numbers.

The rest of the morning as Mia got ready for school, she danced around singing "Baby Stitch" over and over again.

At the bus stop, the kids ran over to their friends and excitedly shared the news. The other parents standing around overheard the excited squeals and gave Rick and Kate smiles, and some even shared words of congratulations. Before long the school bus arrived, and all the parents got last minute hugs and called out words of love and to "Have a good day!" to their kiddos as they took the four steps and disappeared inside, some peeking out through the window. They waited until the bus turned a corner before heading in a million directions to continue on with their day.

[] []

Not long after the kid left for school, Rick and Kate headed for the hospital; stopping at the mall for a last minute present and breakfast; as they had been asked to get if they could.

The elevator announced they had arrived at their destination in that cheerful, British, robotic voice.

A scrub clad nurse at the desk pointed them in the direction of Alexis' room, and as they walked the hall they saw new born babies being rolled to and from their parent's rooms in their bassinets and a new family leaving the hospital together for the first, and hopefully last, time.

Castle knocks on the door before peaking his head inside the room. "Can we come in?"

A voice on the other side grants them entrance and Rick pushes fully through the door, Kate on his heels. It is a very minimalistic room: the bed, a table and chair set, TV hung in one corner, and another door to the left of the one they enter that opens to the bathroom.

"Hey," Castle whispers, making a beeline for his eldest daughter and new grandbaby.

"Hi," Alexis replies, pulling her hospital gown around her chest where the baby is nursing; trying to not be fully exposed when it's not just her husband and daughter in the room.

Rick kisses Alexis' temple, running a hand down her arm to the baby's tiny toes, tickling them, causing the infant to flinch.

"How are you feeling?" He asks.

"I'm good," Alexis nods, meeting her dad's eyes. "She did great last night; let us get a few hours of sleep. They offered to take her to the nursery so we could sleep, but I didn't want to be away from her," she says looking down at her daughter who had unlatched herself and was falling asleep, a fist coming to her cheek.

"And you?" Kate asks Max, the new dad looking a little ruffled in the feathers.

"Oh I'm fine," he answers with a smile.

"We brought breakfast," Kate tells him, putting the bags on the table and empting their contents. "We didn't know what you wanted so we got a bit of everything.

"Great! Thank you," Max says, hugging his mother-in-law around her shoulders. He makes a plate for Alexis first and then himself, and then trades the food for the sleeping baby.

"Oh, she is just beautiful," Kate breathes, finally getting a good look. She runs a finger over the tiny face, studying every feature.

"She has blonde hair!" Max laughs, slipping of the cap revealing the pale blonde hair on top of his daughter's head.

"So what do you think: will she have red hair like her mom or brown like her dad?" Kate questions, looking at the new parents.

"I think she'll have brown hair," Alexis answers. "Every one of Max's nieces and nephews has brown hair so I'm sure she will too."

"Do you want to hold her?" Max asks Kate. When she nods, her hands over the baby, who whines in protest but soon quiets down again when Kate starts murmuring to her. Rick goes to his wife's side, doing the same thing to his granddaughter as Kate had done minutes before.

"So what's her name?" Castle asks.

"McKenna Jo," Max answers for the both of them.

At the sound of the infants' name, Kate's stomach drops and she looks up at Alexis. The new mom meets Kate's eyes and sends her a half smile and a shrug as if to say, "She's your family too; think of her name how you want."

"Any significance?" Rick presses on, not noticing the silent exchange between the two moms.

"My godmother is named Jocelynn and we just fell in love with McKenna," Max shrugs, not really having a giant backstory to his daughter's name.

"She's beautiful," Rick says, taking McKenna from Kate, taking his turn to hold her.

They stay to see Max's parents, brother and sister, and their families, arrive from their flights from North Carolina, Colorado and Georgia respectively. Max's mom, Terri, cries at the sight of her granddaughter; overwhelmed at the sight of her. His niece, Sierra, begs to hold her new cousin, and after sitting on a chair with a pillow in her lap, gets McKenna placed in her lap.

Pictures are snapped of the sight and Sierra's bother, Bryce, accidently pokes the new baby in the eye causing her to immediately start to wail and the young boy to jump back, scared he had broken the baby.

Rick and Kate leave just after three to meet the kids' bus by three thirty, but promise they would be back.

[] []

"Mommy!"

"Hey, buddy! Did you have a good day?" Kate asks, catching her son at her knees.

"Uh-huh," the five year old replies. "Can we see the baby now?"

"Yeah, can we?" His sister asks, coming out of a swarm of kids getting of the bus. Her pigtail braids, that were perfect that morning, had come undone and sections of hair were sticking out of them at odd angles.

"Once everyone gets out, we can," Kate answers them, looking for her other three kids. "Here: go wait in the car with Daddy," she says, pointing them a little ways down the sidewalk to where Castle is parked. The two race down the path, yelling and screaming the whole way.

Kate joins them a few minutes later with the other kids and five minutes later the family is off to the hospital.

"Here, Mia," Kate says, handing back the wrapped present she had at her feet since that morning. "When we get to the hospital you give this to Alexis, okay?"

"Okay," the girl nods, her siblings raising their voices in protest.

"No!"  
"Mommy!"  
"Why does she get too?"  
"It's not fair!"  
"I want to do it!"

"It's Miyana's present to give. You guys already gave Alexis your present. This one is special."

That doesn't end the pretests; just quiets them down a bit. A fight erupts between Miyana, Liam and Danielle which results in Kate taking the gift back until they get there and the kids pouting and angry.

[] []

"Okay, when we go in there, you have to be very quiet, understand? Baby McKenna might be asleep." The parents lead their kids down the hospital hallway, each hand occupied with a child's; Finn trails behind, obviously tired after a day at school.

A knock on the wood door and they enter, sunset streaming in through the window.

"Be gentle!" Castle says as his kids rush towards their older sister and baby niece.

Alexis does so good with her siblings. She holds the baby low so they can see and touch her, moving the blankets aside so all of her face is exposed.

"Smell her," she tells them with a smile. "It's the best smell in the world.

The five inhale deeply that intoxicating baby smell, each one wanting a chance to explore the baby.

"What do you got there, Mia girl?" Alexis asks her sister, sitting up again.

"A present for Baby McKenna," Mia answers, handing over the gift bag and moving closer to the hospital bed.

"Well let's see here," Alexis pulls out layers of tissue paper, crumpling them up and tossing them at the kids making them squeal and laugh; just as she had done hours before with Max's nieces and nephews.

Finally she gets to the present. She reads the card first: a sweet message with Precious Moments characters on the front; and then pulls out the stuffed animal at the bottom. It's tiny and blue, with a tuft of blue fluff for hair. Stitch.

Alexis laughs, tears coming to her eyes, a hand covering her mouth. "Oh, Mia," she whispers, hugging her sister close. "It's great. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Mia says, going to her mom who had taken McKenna.

"I don't get it," Max says on a laugh.

"It's Stitch. Kenna was born at 6:26; Stitch was Experiment 626," Alexis tries to explain.

"I thought it was funny!" Kate laughs.

"It is!" Alexis smiles. "She'll love it. Thank you."

The quints each get their turn holding baby McKenna, and more pictures are snapped.

But not long after, both the new born and her kindergarten aunts and uncles start to get restless and so the families exchange good-byes before parting ways into the dark December evening.

"I like baby McKenna; she's cute." Finn announces on the drive home.

"Yeah, she is," Rick tells her from his spot in the drivers' seat.

"She cries a lot!" Liam interjects.

"Hey! You cried a lot when you were a baby too," Kate shoots back at her son.

"I did!?"

"Yup; you cried at everything," Kate laughs, exaggerating the memory to tease Liam.

"How come?"

"Because you were a baby; you couldn't talk yet and tell people what you wanted," Rick says, turning right onto another road.

"But now I can!" Liam cheers.

"Yes, you can," Castle smiles. "But you wanna know something?"

"What?"

"You cried so much because you hated the world as a baby. Hated everything. Nothing could make you happy. Except Alexis."

"Alexis?"

"Yeah. We didn't know what it was, but something she did make you stop crying and not mad at the world anymore. She had a magic touch."

"Do I have the magic touch?" Liam asks, holding up his hands.

Rick and Kate lock eyes under the street lamps, sharing a smile.

"I think you do, buddy," is the answer he gets.

"Cool," comes his sighed reply before the car goes silent; the only noise is the radio playing Christmas music.

"I have the magic touch too!" Danielle announces a few minutes later.

"No you don't! It's only my thing 'cause Alexis had her magic on me," Liam rebuts, turning to his sister next to him.

"Not uh!"

Yeah huh!"

And the fight continues all the way home.


	3. Christmas Morning

**A/N: Better late than never, right? Anyway, hope your Christmas was spent with family and all the good food. Also? Yesterday was my little brother's 17th birthday. Happy birthday, Bubby. I love you so much.**

 **Any spelling/grammar mistakes you see are mine. I'm sorry.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

The last of the dying embers glowed orange in the closed fireplace. Filled stockings hung on the mantle above, and only crumbs and a dirty glass are left from Santa's treat. Lights twinkled from their places over railings and banisters, around windows and the mantel piece, left on for Santa to be able to see and, according to one little girl, because he is afraid of the dark and the Christmas lights were his night light.

Presents lay under the decorated tree, most wrapped, but some not. Bigger ticket items sit front and center; the first things that will be seen in the morning.

A light snow falls outside; the slight breeze causing the flakes to dance and tumble before settling on the ground. It is not the loud, harsh storm of weeks past, but rather a peaceful, soft snow; one that makes everyone stop and watch and listen to the quiet. One that land on flat mittens, easy enough to see with the naked eye; where people try and catch them on their tongues.

All the clocks strike the half hour, and still the house lays silent. The children are snuggled in bed, warm under blankets, cuddling their beloved comfort items; each clad in Christmas jammies. The adults, too, are asleep; having stayed up late enjoying the night with a drink, letting the fire burn down.

[] []

The kid's think they are bring stealthy: tiptoeing down the hall and switching between their rooms; giggling and not quite whispering as they go.

Rick and Kate listen from their room and, meeting eyes, cover their mouths to keep from laughing out loud. He tosses back the covers, stands and shoves his feet into slippers.

"I'm going to go get them," he announces to his wife, throwing on his robe as he leaves the bedroom. Rick creeps down the hall, and stops at the boys' room where all the kids are currently.

"What are you doing?" Castle questions, busting open the door causing all five kids to jump and scream. He can't really throw his nine year old around as well anymore, but he does get a hold of Liam from behind and pins his arms to his sides, tickling the back of his neck where it is extra sensitive. The boy squirms and giggles, begging to be let go. Rick drops his hold enough for Liam to escape, and the boy stands on his bed, getting height on his father. "Come on. Let's go wake up mommy so we can open some presents," Castle says, turning and letting Liam ride on his back; the others already halfway down the hall.

"Merry Christmas, Mommy!" Danielle cheers as she comes into the room and crawls into bed.

"Merry Christmas, baby girl," Kate says, hugging her daughter and kissing her temple.

"Are you ready?" Miyana asks, standing next to her mom and sister, bouncing with excited energy.

"No. I think maybe we'll just skip Christmas this year," Kate jokes, stealthily winking at Danielle.

"No!" Mia whines.

"Mommy!" Austin continues, having entered the conversation just then. "Daddy! Mommy says we're not doing Christmas!"

"Well if Mommy says so, then I guess that's true," Rick says, coming in just behind Austin.

"I'll tell you what," Kate starts, giving her kids a proposition. "If you guys wait out side for me to get cleaned up and let Daddy go make us some coffee, then we will have Christmas."

"Yeah!"

The cheers fill the room, bouncing off the walls, echoing just slightly.

As fast as they had entered, the kid leave, pulling Rick with them.

"That was too easy," Kate whispers to Danielle who had stayed cuddled up with her mom. The two girls share a laugh, and eventually Kate does get up and makes herself presentable for Christmas morning photos.

When they come out, the other four kids are stand in various places on the stair case, waiting for permission to go downstairs.

"Okay, go on," Kate releases them and huffs a breath and shakes her head as they literally run down the stairs and into the living room for their stockings, as per tradition.

The blinds are open, letting in the early morning light, and revealing the blanket of fresh powder on the ground. Christmas music is playing out of the TV and a fire is once again lit in the grate. Rick is waiting with cups of coffee and hot chocolate, which he distributes as the kids find their spots.

Kate accepts hers with a kiss, and the hot porcelain feels nice in her cold hands. The first sip burns on its way down, killing off a few taste buds in the process.

"Mommy, look!"

The call gets her attention and she's split five ways looking at all the candy and little bits and bobs the kids pull out of their stockings. Lipgloss; toe socks; packs of card games; more candy; each one revealed with shouts and cheers. Already the kids are trading with each other, for better flavors or mixing and matching their socks.

"Here Mommy," Austin says, passing Kate her own stocking.

She's always had one. Since that first Christmas she and Castle spent together, and every year following. It's put together much like their kids' are: candy and a few little trinkets or gag gifts. One year she had gotten a rubber band gun; another year there was a giant gummy bear waiting for her.

"Okay, let's see," she says, trading her coffee mug for the stocking, and sticking her hand inside. On top are two of those plastic candy canes filled with candy (Skittles and Jolly Ranchers this year), then comes the classic chocolate Santa. A six pack of holiday Kit-Kat bars come next, with a box of Holiday Nerds following. She gets the same pack of flavored Chap Stick the girls had gotten (hers was various soda flavors), and a pair of toe socks as well. At the bottom are some lottery scratchers and finally is a gift card to her favorite clothing store.

"Thank you," She says, turning to Castle and kissing him with a smile.

Now that the living room is a disaster zone and hot chocolate has grown cold, requests to move on to opening _real_ presents are being made. A rushed cleaning session is completed and the family migrates into the front room.

There are gasps and squeals of delight as they see their big presents, each kid pulling their gifts to a spot around the room.

"Daddy." The sigh that comes from his daughter's mouth is so full of joy and shock and awe that he quickly snaps a photo to capture the moment forever.

"Do you like it?" He asks, kneeling beside her as she continues to peer through the window on the box.

He gets a rapid nod in return, and takes the box from her hand. He breaks the seal and removes the new American Girl doll from its restraints.

It's exactly the one Finn asked for: Curly brown hair, green eyes; the Girl of the Year, Callie.

Her story is that she had been put into foster care after her parents got into trouble. She had to find her voice and not become 'just one of those foster kids'. American Girl had made history with a Girl of the Year with such a story as Callie's. People thought it might be too inappropriate, but it was a story that needed to be told. And they had done it in a very proper, and in a way that girls of this age group would understand, but would also make them ask questions and want to learn more.

"Whoa! A scooter!" Austin's shout could be heard a mile away. As his old one had broken beyond repair over the summer, Rick and Kate figured Christmas would be the perfect time to get him a new one.

"Bryan Lanning's new CD! Thank you, thank you!" Kate gets a running hug from her daughter, still clutching the CD in her hand. Miyana adores the YouTube star-slash-singer/songwriter and had talked nonstop about the new CD he was releasing right around the holidays, so the present was absolutely perfect for her.

As the morning continued, more present were opened, and the floor became covered in wrapping paper and gift bags. The kids cracked into their new toys the second they could and eventually everyone dispersed to different corners of the house to play.

[] []

The rest of the day was very relaxed: everyone still in pajamas, playing with toys and watching TV and eating _way_ too much candy. Just as the holiday was to be spent.

A FaceTime call was made to Alexis and her family, who were spending the holidays with Max's family in North Carolina. Four year old McKenna went on about the new Barbie house she had gotten from her Mimi and Poppy, and despite the distance between New York and North Carolina, invited her grandma and grandpa and aunts and uncles over to play, to which her mother had to explain why they couldn't comer over. But promises were made for them to get together to play with the new toy as soon as they got back from their trip.

Dinner was casually prepared over the afternoon, not rushing around; no worries. And soon the smells filled the house and hungry kids started floating through and hovering in the kitchen.

"Careful, it's hot," Rick warned his Austin, who was underfoot wanting to help, and eat, as he pulled a dish of green bean casserole out of the over, setting it on the stovetop next to it.

"Is it ready?" Austin asks once again, bouncing on his toes.

"It will be soon. Go wash your hands," Castle says, pushing Tin in the direction of the bathroom, and pointing the last part at all five kids.

Once everyone is sitting at the table, with full plates in front of them, Rick raises his glass in a toast. The others follow, the kids loving this part; always excited to 'cheers' their glasses.

"I just wanted to say Merry Christmas. I love you all very much," he says simply, smiling at each member of his family.

"Merry Christmas!"  
"Love you, babe," Kate says with a kiss.  
"Love you!"  
"Love you, Daddy!"  
"Cheers!"

At Danielle's comment, they clink their glasses together and take a sip before digging into their food.

And for the first time since the wee hours of the morning: the Castle house is silent.


	4. Saturday Night Live

**A/N: So I have never been to The Grand Ole Opry, let alone Tennessee. I only know what Google and YouTube searches can dig up; the rest comes from my imagination. I tried to get the important details right. Go easy on me? I try!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Brad Paisley once said: There are two places you play Country music: The Grand Ole Opry, and everywhere else.

So as she turns the corner around the back of the famous Nashville theater, butterflies form in the pit of her stomach. She doesn't understand why; she's seen Deacon play nearly a hundred shows. Why is this one any different?

Then she realizes, the butterflies aren't those of nerves, but of excited energy.

Maxine, Deacon, and all the other guys (though the term is more of a grouping, than gender identifying as there are other girls, besides Max, in their band) have worked extremely hard for this opportunity. And to have been privy to the roller coaster they've been on the last year, Finn is equally lucky.

She pulls into a spot caddy corner from the stage door and cuts off the engine, stopping the radio right in the middle of a sentence. Finn checks her makeup in the visor mirror, making sure the Indian summer heat hasn't melted it all over her face. Thankfully: everything seems in place, and with one last quick swipe of lip gloss, she gathers her purse and steps out.

Finn uses the frame of her car for support as she steps to the back door and opens it, grabbing her crutches first thing.

That's when she realizes: there is a major problem, Houston.

Getting her load _into_ the car was one thing. The kind little kids in the apartment next to Deacons helped with that (though it didn't hurt that she gave them ice cream money for their assistance). Getting it out and into the theater was a whole other story.

After she sends an SOS text to Shay, Finn finally takes in surroundings.

Sure, she's been to Nashville before; Deacon lives thirty minutes outside the city. But besides quick drive-by's, Finn has never been to the Grand Ole Opry before in her life. She's heard the stories, everyone has; and seen the videos all over the internet. But something about being close enough to touch makes her stomach churn; and the waves of heat coming off the pavement aren't helping at all.

"Hey!"

Finn turns at the call and the tension in her belly is relieved at the sight of her friend. Shay steps down the three concrete stairs in front of the stage door and crosses the parking lot to meet her. Wearing a blue, floral tank top, denim cut-offs, and flip-flops, with tattoos on nearly every visible piece of skin, save for her face, and a glittering gem in her nose, Shay Butler may look tough and hard core, but under that book cover, she's the sweetest person on the planet.

They had found her working a mail-room job at a record company with dreams of going into PR. Dave had seen her potential and brought her on to help manage and to do PR for the band on a trial basis.

That was three years ago. And she's been their problem ever since.

"Looks like you got here in one piece," Shay jokes, pulling Finn into a hug.

"More or less. Traffic was a nightmare!" Nemo groans, rolling her eyes.

"It always is; especially on show night." Shay's mispronunciation of the word 'especially' has always made Finn smile. She says it 'expecially;' not getting the first 's.' Coupled with her southern accent; it is just another proof that despite the tattoos and piercings, Shay is harmless.

Mostly.

You do not want to mess with her before she's had her morning coffee, half hour before show time or when she's been dealing with ass hats on the phone all day.

"Okay: what can I do?"

"Can you carry stuff for me? I'd do it myself, but," she says shrugging, a bit self-conscious, but poking fun at herself.

"Sure. How the hell did you get all this in here?" Shay comments, looking at the load in the back seat.

"Payed some neighbor kids," Finn laughs.

"Nice," Shay replies, smiling.

"Okay, so I just have a few pans of cupcakes and some Gatorade," Finn says, scooping up the Target bag full of the particular sports drink she had been requested to pick up after asking the night before if she should bring anything. The cupcakes were extra; and she knew Deacon loved them.

"Sounds good," Shay says, laying her arms flat, accepting the foil pans filled with the dessert. She shifts them to one arm and takes the shopping bag, setting it in the crook on an elbow before shift the pans back.

Finn closes the doors and makes sure the car is locked before the two girls walk back across the parking lot. The burly security guard holds the door for them and Finn thanks him and offers him a cupcake, to which he happily accepts.

Shay leads them through the maze of hallways to the dressing room where their band is being held until the show starts. It's the same brown, wooden door as every other door on the hall, with their band name typed up on a piece of printer paper and taped to the outside.

"Aye! Let us in!" Shay yells at the closed door, kicking the bottom with her foot.

"Alright, alright! God!" the voice from the inside is muffled, but annoyed.

Shay shoves through the door, without thanking whomever opened it for them, and deposits her load on the nearest table.

Thankfully Finn has manners and as she enters the dressing room, she thanks the man behind the door. "Thanks," she says meeting his eyes before her face breaks into a wide grin. "Hey!" she's being wrapped up in a hug the next second.

"Hey!"

"When did you get back?" Finn asks, pulling back to arm's length and giving the guy hugging her a once over. Aside from a fresh haircut and the thick, black glasses perched on his nose, Jared still looks the same as the last time she saw him four months ago.

"Um, last night? The night before? Who knows," the blonde guitarist shrugs, letting his friend past him and further into the room.

It's about the size of a standard hotel room, with basically the same amenities. Vanity with lights around the mirror, table and chairs in the center, and a television hung to the wall perpendicular to the mirror with artwork on the same wall. And aside from all the crap the band members brought with them, there is not much else in the room.

"God, Deacon! Put a shirt on! There are girls in this room!" Gabi's remark is one of the few she's said all day, and every one of her bandmates is silently relieved she's talking again.

"Ignore her," Finn assures, walking over to her boyfriend, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I like it; leave it off." She smiles, standing on tiptoe to kiss him; Deacon towers over Finn, nearly a foot taller than her.

"See? Someone appreciates my chiseled physique!" Deacon laughs, looking behind him at the drummer seated at the vanity pinning her hair into the two buns she wears for shows. Gabi meets his look and rolls her eyes at him through the mirror.

"Hey, Nemo! What are these?" Jared asks, lifting the tinfoil covering one of the cupcake pans.

"Cupcakes!" Finn smiles, turning in Deacons arms to face her friend.

"Are those-?" Deacon asks, pointing to the pans, tightening his hold on Finn.

"Yep." she smiles, leaning back to meet his eyes.

"Mmm! I love you!" He growls, kissing her, before letting go and crossing the room in two strides. He tears off the foil, tossing it aside as he digs into the cupcakes.

"Ew! What _are_ those?" Shay asks, her brow furrowed, looking at the grey frosting covered cupcakes.

"Crack," Deacon comments, his mouth full.

"They're my take on 'The Grey Stuff' from _Beauty and the Beast_ ," Finn starts, rolling her eyes at Deacon's comment. "I made them for my niece's fourth or fifth birthday- right, Deacon? It was her fourth or fifth?-"

"Yeah," Deacon nods.

"Anyway, I made them for her party and they sort of became my signature thing," she smiles.

Jared timidly picks one up and takes a bite and when his eyes light up, Finn knows she's hooked him.

"Oh my god!" And that's the best reaction Finn could have hoped for. "Deacon's right: these are crack!"

Finn laughs, looking down, hiding her face; a move almost identical to her mother.

"Hey!"

The door slams open, letting the group of people in and making the already full room even more full.

"Aye, Kentucky! Come try these. Nemo made literal crack," Jared shouts, waving over Maxine's father.

"She did _what_!?" Zac's laugh fills the room even more; all the voices overlapping make conversations rather hard to follow.

"Just eat this," Deacon says, shoving a cupcake into both men's hands.

And once again, astonishment and praise are said over the cupcakes, and a request is made for another batch to be made before Finn heads back to New York.

"Nemo, come here." Maxine calls her over, and as is a common scene: all the girls (Max, Gabi, and the two back-up singer: Zee and Leslie) are seated in a row along the mirror. "Will you hold this for me?" she asks over the bobby pin in her mouth, holding out one of the small braids she had made.

Finn helps Max get her hair ready, and twenty minutes later they are being called to the stage.

"Have fun," Finn tells everyone as they walk out, stopping Deacon for a kiss as he passes her.

[] []

The only people left in the room with her are Shay, Kentucky, Zac, and his wife Emily. About ten minutes after the band had headed for the stage, the group of supporters heads out into the house and their seats.

Fin is complete awe the second she steps into the theater. It's gorgeous! All lit up, music blasting from the speakers, velvet curtains pulled closed awaiting the start of the show. They got good seats too: fourth row, right in the middle; and Finn swears she saw Miranda Lambert sitting five rows behind them, but she was afraid to look and be marked a creep.

Once the show starts, Finn gets swept up in the magic of it; her smile is so wide it makes her eyes squint.

Dierks Bentley performs first, and having been a fan of his for years, Finn freaks out when he takes the stage. She freaks even more when he smiles and waves at her in the middle of his set. After three encores, he finally leaves the stage, and the announcer returns to the podium.

"Alright, alright," he starts as the crowd continues to cheer. "Next up we have a new group for y'all to meet. Their just breaking onto the scene, but I think you're gonna like them. Give it up for 'Kentucky Social'" The announcer leaves, and the crowd cheers as the band take the stage, getting in place before the lights hit them. Maxine stands in The Circle, Deacon to her left, Jared to her right, and everyone else in a half circle behind them.

"Hey guys!" Max says, before laughing and having to stop for a second. She scans the crowd, the biggest they have ever played for, and is in awe for a minute. "Wow! This is crazy!" she giggles, and everyone out in the house laughs too. "I'm Maxine, and that's Deacon and we're 'Kentucky Social'. You guys ready to have some fun tonight?"

She starts off with the cliché line that gets the crowd going, and then immediately goes into their first song. It's one of their more popular songs to come off their first EP; fun, fast, and upbeat, called 'Hulk Smash'. It has this crazy insane bass part for Deacon that took him weeks to learn; it's one of the band's favorites to perform.

They play two more songs, and when the last notes of 'Cattails' hit, Max bends over and takes a swing for the water bottle at her feet.

"Alright," she starts. "We're gonna play something new for y'all, okay?" The crowd cheers, loving their performance. "Okay," she adjusts her guitar strap around her neck. "This one is called 'Hampton's Hideaway' I hope you like it."

It's slower in tempo, starting with keyboard and then slowly adding the other instruments. Inspired by a spur of the moment trip Finn and Deacon took out to her family's home in the upscale city the previous summer, and the little cove they had discovered during a walk on the beach. Funnily enough: the cover art for the EP it's attached too is a picture Deacon too of Finn on that trip where she is sitting on the rocks by their new found spot, the wind has blown her hair to obvlion, and she's staring out to the horizon. Finn didn't even know he had taken the shot until the album release party when she say the cover art.

And as much as she would deny it in later years, on that night when Deacon and Max are singing that song, she cries and doesn't even try to stop the tears rolling down her face. She's just so happy for her friends and all they have accomplished.

After the show, once everything has been cleaned up and 'Kentucky Social' have finished their press responsibilities, the group heads out on the town to celebrate. The first bar they go to, some couple who was at the show offers to buy them a round of drinks, and how could they refuse?

The night ends at a line dancing club; every is a little bit drunk, and still buzzing over their performance, which has over five hundred thousand views on YouTube already.

Finn stands on Deacon's boots, wearing his cowboy hat, as he two-steps them around the floor. As she watches the faces go by, her face on his chest, inhaling his musky, and slightly sweet sent, Finn buns this night into her mind; trying to remember it forever.


	5. A Lesson in Conflict Resolution

In its post-birthday frenzy, the basement playroom looks like a literal tornado has come through. Toys and books are strewn all over the floor, and nearly every piece from the costume box is either on a person or the floor or some other available surface. Liam, for example, is wearing a Spiderman costume as he sits on the floor running his Hot Wheels cars through the track he had gotten for his birthday.

All five kids seemed to be playing in peace.

Mostly.

"No, Austin!"

War of The Worlds is being waged in a corner as brother and sister fight over claim of a baby doll (of which they have at least fifteen).

"It's my turn, Nemo!"

"No it's not! We need it!"

The young girl is holding her own; trying to keep the doll for the game of House her and her sister are playing.

"Yes it is!" Austin fights back, pulling at the dolls arms, and his sister comes with it.

"No!" Finn shouts, pulling the doll out of her brother's hands in one quick motion, causing him to stumble backwards, before falling onto his bottom.

Finn sticks her tongue out at her brother before returning to her game all smug, taking to her baby and fixing its hair, while Austin's face breaks and he runs up the stairs crying.

"Mommy!" He makes his way through the main floor, checking all the spots his mom might be.

"Mommy isn't here," Castle tells his son as he passes his office. The four year old stops in the doorway, looking at his dad. "She's at work, remember?"

"I need her," Austin insists.

"Do you think I could help?" Castle asks, closing his laptop. Austin shakes his head, looking at his toes with a frown. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"No. Mommy needs to do it."

Rick sighs, running a hand through his hair; the one day he has a deadline to make on his next book is the one day his kids don't have pre-school.

"Do you want me to call her?"

"Yeah," Austin replies, perking up a bit, walking further into the office.

"Okay, come here," Castle picks up his cell phone and dials Kate. "She's at work, and might not answer so we may have to leave a voicemail, okay?"

"Okay," Austin nods, looking at his dad with the phone to his ear.

She answers on the second ring.

" _Hey_."

"Hey. Can you talk?"

" _Yeah, why_?"

"Because your son has a problem that apparently only you can solve."

" _Oh_ ," She sighs. " _Is he there_?"

"Yeah, hold on," Castle finishes, passing the phone over.

"Mommy?"

" _Hey, buddy_!" Kate smiles, leaning back in her desk chair. " _What's up_?"

"I was playing with it and then Nemo took it from me and she pushed me!" Austin explains in one breath, with matching hand movements.

" _She took what_?" On a day like this, when everyone is on her case for every little think, Kate would much rather deal with her kids' fights than with everything at work.

"The baby! And it was my turn!"

" _Did she ask you for it_?"

"Yes," Austin whispers, almost inaudibly.

" _And did you tell her you were playing with it_?"

"Yes! But she took it anyway!"

" _Okay; take a breath_ ," She waits while he does. " _Why don't you ask Nemo if you can play with her? Share the baby. Or go get another one. Okay_?"

"Okay," Austin says, willing to try and resolve the fight.

" _Okay. And if that doesn't work, ask Daddy for help_."

"Okay."

" _Alright. Give the phone back to Daddy and go play_."

"I love you mommy!" She doesn't get to reply, because he's gone a second later.

"Sorry; he wouldn't let me help," Castle says, once Austin has disappeared back downstairs.

" _It's fine_ ," She shrugs, thought he can't see her. " _Better than dealing with all this bureaucratic Quarterly Review BS we've been doing all day."_

"Ouch! Glad I'm not there," he replys sarcastically.

" _Of course you are_ ," She laughs as a uniform comes up to her and hands her a file she requested for a case they were working on. " _Thanks, LT! Hey, I gotta go_."

"I know. I'll see you tonight. I love you."

" _Love you too. Bye_." And the call ends, and she gets back to work.

[] []

After working for another forty minutes, getting ninety percent finished with what he needs to do by tonight, Castle stands from his desk and stretches, letting out a groan as his back pops. He goes to the bathroom, washes his hands before flicking off the light and standing at the basement door. He can hear the kids playing; the Hot Wheels track still running.

And, using the years of laser tag training, stealthily moves down the stairs to see what they are up to.

Liam and Danielle are in their Jedi robes acting out a lightsaber battle with their plastic versions, with the accompanying sound effects and explosions. He sees Dani get a good hit on her brother and 'chops off' his hand, to which he cries out, falling to his knees. Rick laughs at the sight wishing he had brought his phone with him to take a video of the dramatic ending.

Miyana has taken over the cars and is playing some imaginary game Rick can't figure out on one glance, but she's happy.

And Austin and Finn are playing together at the play kitchen with their baby dolls, and not fighting for once. They are obviously playing House and Austin is holding his baby teaching it how to cook, while Finn and their other 'kids' watch on, waiting for their 'dinner' to be finished.

Rick turns tail back to his office, making sure the kids don't see him and ruin the scene.

[] []

"Here you go, Mommy. This is your dinner," Austin says, handing his sister a plastic plate full of imaginary food.

"Thank you Daddy. You and Elsa did a good job," Finn comments, thanking Austin and their pretend daughter.

"See? We did good," Austin smiles down at the baby doll in his arms; the exact same one the siblings were fighting over an hour before.

* * *

 **Aren't siblings fun? Anyway, hope you liked this little thing. Also? This is a call for requests. What do you want to see out of this world? Message me on here or in a review or find me on Twitter or Tumblr (links in my profile) and I'll see what magic I can make.**


	6. I Have a Dream

**A/N: Just a little thing written for MLK Day and for Castle Fanfic Monday this month. It's a bit meh, but I like it.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Hey, buddy. What're you doing?" Rick asks his son, who is sitting at the breakfast bar, a blank piece of notebook paper in front of him, a pencil in his hand.

"Homework," Liam responds, tapping the eraser on the granite countertop, his mind obviously working on something. "Martin Luther King Jr. Day is on Monday and my class is talking at the assembly," Liam starts. "And we all have to write a paragraph about how Dr. King affected us in our lives right now. But I don't know what to write," he whines, waving his hands.

"Do you want me to help you?" Castle asks, taking the bar stool next to him.

"Can you?" Liam turns to him, blue eyes like his own, looking all flustered and nervous.

"Of course. Why do you tell me what you know about Martin Luther King Jr. Day."

"Well Martin Luther King was a man who lived a long time ago when there was segregation in America. The white people didn't like the black people and the black people were mad about that because they were just like everyone else, just their skin color was different. They liked watching movies and playing at the park, like everyone, but they weren't allowed."

"So what did Dr. King do about it?"

"He protested and fought for the black people cause he wanted his children to grow up in a world where everyone was equal and they could play with everyone."

"Do know what that was called? What Dr. King was fighting for?"

"Civil rights," Liam nods, proud of himself for remembering all the information he had learned in class.

"That's right! And he gave a speech in Washington D.C, didn't he?"

"Yeah! It was his 'I have a Dream Speech' and Dr. King didn't want to fight with hands and guns and stuff. He wanted to use words and be peaceful, because the problems didn't need to be made bigger cause of guns and people hitting other people."

"That's right," Castle nods.

"But what do it write about," Liam insists, eyes widening towards his father.

"Write about the changes he made. Write about how he helped people accomplish things they didn't think they could. Like how Tio is a cop or Nani is a doctor. If Dr. King hadn't fought for civil rights a long time ago, your aunt and uncle probably wouldn't have been able to go to school and become what they are, right?"

"Yeah," Liam nods, his brow furrowing as her starts to formulate his paper."

"Okay," Castle smiles, and, ruffling Liam's hair, he leaves the bar for the fridge to start getting dinner together.

And aside for a few questions about spelling and to further his train of thought, Liam wrote his entire paper, getting it ready to be proof read by his teacher the next day.

[] []

The next day, Thursday, Liam brought home his edited, and re-drafted, essay and was told he had to type it up for homework. And with a little help from his dad, the third grader accomplished that and put the final copy, freshly printed on clean copy paper, into his homework folder and safely put away from siblings and toddler nieces with crayons and cups of juice.

[] []

Monday rolled around, and Liam could not sit still during class; he was just too nervous and excited for the assembly. And after what felt like forever, the principal, Dr. B, came over the intercom to announce it was time for the assembly and everyone should go to the gym.

Liam walked with his class, his essay in a folder to keep it nice, to the gym. They sat in their assigned spot, right behind the first graders, and started talking among each other. Liam was sitting next to his friends Oliver and Emilia, and the group happily talked until the assembly started.

"Alright, guys," Dr. B began. "Does anyone know what today is?" Hands shot up everywhere, and the administrator chose a fifth grade girl who screamed from the back: "Martin Luther King day!"

"That's right, Ava!" Dr. B smiled. "And because of that, we have someone special to come talk to you so I expect everyone to be on their best behavior, get it?

"Got it!" Chorused the school.

"Good," the principal nodded. "Okay give a round of applause for Ms. Lucinda Parker." At that she stepped away from the microphone, and an older African American woman stepped up. She was wearing a tan sweater and blue jeans, her hair straightened and curling under at the ends. She was wrinkled with age, but very bright and bubbly, her dark eyes kind.

"Hello everyone," she began, receiving scattered 'hello's' from the kids sitting on the floor in front of her. "Like your principal said, my name is Lucinda, but you all can call me Ms. Lucy."

Ms. Lucy goes on to tell her story and how the Civil Rights Movement affected her and her family and how her father was put in jail because he marched with Dr. King. She talked about how the little boys and girls she played with knew all about segregation and how there were places for blacks and places for whites and that the two rarely mixed. She talked about how she and her siblings had to go to a school three miles away from their home, even though there was a school down the block that was perfectly fine.

"But how come?" A first grade girl, with glasses and pig tails asked.

"Because the school near me was a whites only school and us kids couldn't go there," Ms. Lucy explained. "It wasn't all fun; it was scary and it hurt our feelings. But because of what Dr. King and my daddy did, by the time I was in high school I was able to go to the school near me, which had been a white's only school before. So tonight what you go home, I want you all to think about how lucky you are that you live in a world where kids of all skin colors can go to school together without having to worry about getting hurt." The speech ended and the whole school applauded for their speaker, who proceeded to sit in a folding chair off to the side.

By now, everyone was starting to get restless, and teachers were starting to scold and discipline the unruly ones.

"Okay, before we go, Mr. Davis' class is going to come up here and share a paper they wrote for today," Dr. B says, giving the second graders the cue to come up to the front.

Liam was the third in line, and after Loren Allison and Christine Booth shared their essay, it was his turn. He took a breath, scanning the crowd for his siblings, finally finding them, and getting smiles in return, before stepping up to the mic.

"Dr. Martin Luther King was an important man. He protested and fought for equal rights for him and everyone in the country. He wanted his kids, and every other kid in the world to be able to go to school and be friends even if they look different. Because of what Dr. King did, everyone was able to do great things. Without him, my Tio and my Nani wouldn't be able to be a doctor and a police officer, and my cousins would not be allowed to go to school with me," He pauses, finding his twin cousins smiling at him from the front row. "Dr. Martin Luther King is very important and because of him we can all be friends and play together."

Liam walks away from the microphone proud of himself and stands there listening to the other eighteen kids in his class read their essays.

And finally the assembly ends and everyone goes back to their classrooms.

"Put your paragraphs into the inbox and take out your math books, please," Mr. Davis instructs his class as they enter their room, amid much chatter.

[] []

When Liam gets his paper back at the end of the week, a giant red 100% sits at the top, with a note of praise from his teacher; and is hung on the class "Wall of Fame"


	7. Ring of Keys

". . . Alright: looks like our time is up. We'll continue this next time. Have a good weekend!" Danielle sighs, slipping her tablet into her bag before standing and pushing in her chair. As she walks out, she gathers her hair back, wrapping it into a messy bun to finally get it out of her face.

"Pretty boring today, huh?" One of her classmates, Kyle, asks, catching up to her in the hallway.

"Yea," Danielle laughs. "That would be the understatement of the century!"

The two continue down the hall, dodging groups of students milling outside of classes.

"Why can't he just give us the notes and be done like everyone else?"

"That is the million dollar question," she replies, pushing open the door, letting them out of the stuffy building and into the crisp air of a bright, sunshiny fall day.

"I mean you don't need to accompany every slide with a fifteen minute long story about your old Army days." The two classmates continue along the sidewalk, dodging students on bikes and skateboards, until Kyle gets called over by his friends.

"I guess I'll see you later," Kyle says, turning away from Danielle.

"Yeah," Dani nods. "Make sure you read the chapter this time! I can't keep covering your ass!" she calls to him as he walks away. She gets a fleeting wave as a response, and, shifting her tote bag on her shoulder, continues along the path, turning right up the walk to the campus center. Everyone is sitting outside on such a beautiful day, so it takes Danielle longer to find the group of friends she usually sits with.

"Hey!" Sam calls out to her.

"Hey!" Dani smiles, pulling out a chair at one of the two tables they had pushed together, and setting her bag at her feet.

"So, who died today?" Dani asked, shifting in her seat to look at her friend. Sam's class on the history of Los Angeles almost always resulted in discussion about death, and this weeks' lecture was no different.

"Anna Nicole Smith," Sam replies happily, holding up the three notebook pages full of notes she had taken that day as proof.

"Nice," Dani nods, pulling out her tablet and finishing off submitting an essay for her Western Civilizations class that was due that night. "Where is everyone?" She asks, noticing the lack of the rest of their usual group.

"Michael is at some rehearsal, Steven is in the lab, and Jo and Jae Jae are out getting 'B Roll'"

"Oh, okay," Dani nods, pulling out the sandwich she picked up before class, but hadn't had a chance to eat it until now.

"So, how was 'ole Eastman's class today?"

Sam's slightly sarcastic question made both friends laugh. They both had the professor in question, Danielle now and Sam the year before, and both knew about his tendency to go on completely irrelevant tangents.

"Oh it was the same," Dani shrugs. "Little actual classwork, a lot of him telling us about is adventures in the Army."

"Ah, sure don't miss that," Sam says, standing. "Be right back; gonna go get food. Don't let anyone take my spot!" she calls, walking away.

"Maybe!" Danielle laughs, watching her friend head of to find food, a middle finger held up in her direction.

Ten minutes later, Danielle looks up from her homework when she catches movement in her peripheral vision. "Took you long enough! Geeze!" she says to her friend, and another girl she doesn't recognize.

"Yeah, sorry," Sam says, sitting down, a chef salad and a bottle of green juice in her hands. She shakes the later before opening it and taking a long swig. The other girl clears her throat and Sam hums, twisting the lid back on her juice. "Oh! Danielle, this is Ashley. She's in my Econ class."

"Hi!" Dani smiles, moving over some of her crap to make room for the girl to sit.

"Hey," Ashley smiles, dimples appearing in her cheeks, sitting next to Sam and across from Dani, a tray of French fries in front of her.

"So Dani has Eastman this semester," Sam fills Ashley in, giving her friend a look.

"Really? I feel for you," Ashley comments, laying a hand on Danielle's arm that sends lightening through her whole body.

"Yeah," Dani breaths, trying to keep her heart rate under control, as if both her friends can hear it as well as she can. "It's pretty bad."

"So, what year are you?" Ashley asks, swallowing a bite.

"I'm a sophomore," Dani nods.

"Oh," Ashley hums.

"You?"

"I'm a junior," the brunette nods, looking at her cellphone as it chimes. "What are you majoring in?"

"Cinematography. And you're a screen writer with Sam, right?"

"Yeah," Ashley smiles, and bears her dimples again.

"That's cool," Dani nods, not knowing how to continue the conversation, until Sam reaches over and steals a fry, getting her hand slapped in response.

"Hey! Those are mine!" Ashley cries, feigning hurt.

"You can share!" Sam retorts, sticking her tongue out.

Danielle tunes out the exchange, taking in the new girl. Compared to her and Sam, who were dressed in jeans, t-shirts, flannels and converse, Ashley was much better put together.

Her long black hair was twisted into two braids by her ears that met in the back to form one longer braid, and the rest was stick straight and shiny. Gold eyeshadow brought out flecks of gold in her dark brown eyes. She's dressed in an army green baby doll dress, black tights and burgundy ballet flats.

"Dani? Dani! Danielle!"

Sam's shouts finally brought the blonde back to Earth.

"Huh? What?" Dani blinks, focusing her attention back to her friends.

"We're going to go see that new 'Paranormal Activity' movie on Friday, you in?"

"Yeah," Dani nods, still studying Ashley as the brunette taps away on her cell phone. "Yeah."

[] []

Friday night arrives, and the trio of girls leaves campus carpooling in Sam's car. And luckily for them they hit the freeway at just the right time and traffic is relatively light. The music is blasting, the windows rolled down; a perfect California Friday night.

"So, Dani! Tell me about you? Where did you grow up?" Ashley asks, from her spot in shotgun.

Dani laughs, not knowing where to start. "Well I grew up just outside of Manhattan."

"Wow, a New York girl, fancy," Ashley comments, stretching out the last word.

"Yeah it was pretty great," Danielle chuckles. "I'm the oldest of five; we're quintuplets."

"Wow! How did that happen?"

"What? Me being the oldest? Or the 'quintuplet' thing?"

"The last one."

"Um, my mom had trouble getting pregnant and she and my dad used fertility drugs. And then my mom got pregnant with four babies originally, but then one of the babies became identical twins, so there are five of us," she finishes, passing her phone to Ashley with a recent family photo pulled up on it.

"Aw! You guys are so cute!"

"Gee, thanks!" Dani replies, full of sarcasm.

"You know what I mean. So your two sisters are twins?" Ashley questions, looking at the photo again.

"You would think, right? Cause they look so much alike; but no. It's my brothers."

"Oh! Okay. I see it now," Ashley nods, handing the phone back. "So what do your parents do?"

"Well my mom's a captain of a precinct for the NYPD and before that she was a detective at the same precinct."

"Oh. Nice."

"Yeah. And my dad is an author."

"Anything I might have read?"

Dani's face turns hot. She knew it would come to this. "Um 'Heat Wave'? Storm Front?'

"Your dad is Richard Castle?"

"Yeah," Dani sighs, suddenly embarrassed.

"Very cool," Ashley smiles. "I love his books." And that was it. No fangirling; no immediate request for an autograph, like some people Danielle and her siblings have told it to.

"Okay, we're here!" Sam announces, pulling into a parking spot of the busy movie theater. The three pile out of the car, and for the next three hours not much talking goes on between them; unless you count the terrified screams from the horror movie they were watching as 'talking.'

[] []

The car door open in front of Danielle's dorm, and the echoes of female laughter could be heard as the blonde sophomore steps onto the pavement.

"Alright, I'll see you later," she says.

"Yeah; If we go to The Grove on Sunday, I'll text you," Sam tells her, speaking of possible weekend plans they had been conspiring during the night.

"Okay. Bye!" Dani calls once more before closing the door and heading up the path; her friends wait until she's safely inside before pulling away, headed for their respective apartments.

Dani takes the stairs to her third floor room, and her thigh are just starting to burn when she hits her floor and steps out into the noisy hallway. As she continues to her room, she nearly gets nailed in the face with a rogue beach ball, but she bats it away at the last second, much to the annoyance of the group using the hallway as their personal volleyball court.

"Hey!" She calls, pushing the door open so not to startle her other suitemates, which has happened; and though it was hilarious, it was also very horrible. But luckily the other three girls she shares a room with are out still.

Dani start off with making some tea, and while it's brewing, she heads for the bathroom to remove her makeup. Finally fresh-faced after a long, but fun day, she takes her tea and settles down in bed with her laptop and Netflix queue.

Two hours later, she's nearly done with 'The Notebook' when her roommate, Lindy, stumbles in. Her red heels are much too high for her to walk properly in and the scrap of black cloth meant to pass as a dress is slowly slipping down her chest.

"Did you have fun?" Dani asks, trying not to laugh.

"Oh, I'm not done yet," Lindy announces, standing at her dresser, looking in the mirror propped up on top. "Just came home to freshen up a bit. Landen is sneaking us into Blondies."

"Well have fun. Make smart choices."

Danielle sometimes feels like the mom to her roommates; especially since they are always going out and doing something, and she's not; not that she doesn't love it when she's out doing it, but her introverted personality just doesn't allow for a lot of partying.

Lindy finally heads back out with her friends, and Dani is just getting back into her movie when her phone chimes with a new notification.

It's a text message.

From Ashley.

Having only know the girl for less than a week, Danielle found it odd that she was texting her.

 _Hey!_

Hi

 _Tonight was fun._

Yeah, it was. I forgot how much I love those movies.

 _Me too. I tried taking my sister to one a few years ago, but she chickened out halfway through._

Some people can't handle those kinds of movies! I think you sister would get along just fine with my sisters. They don't like horror movies either.

 _Really!?_

Yes! They can't stand them! Sometimes I wonder if they are actually my sisters or if they were exchanged when we were babies.

 _Ha! Wouldn't that be great? If you mom had actually exchanged you guys. Like clothes or something?_

Ha ha! It would! Oh my gosh!

The two talked for hours; long enough that the time was more morning than night.

Danielle learned that Ashley grew up in Murrieta, and that she's the middle of three kids. Her brother, Mateo, is twenty seven and works with her father as electricians, her younger sister Isabelle (nicknamed Izzy) is fifteen this year and in high school, and does cheerleading like Danielle. Her mother works the front office at the elementary school all three of the kids had gone too, and her father inherited the electrician business his dad had started forty years ago.

Oh my gosh! We stayed up all night.

 _Did we?  
Oh God! We did. I'm sorry._

It's fine.

Butterflies flared up in Dani's stomach as she composed the next text message. She was hesitant to send it; not know how her new friend would react. She takes a breath, counts to three, and hits send.

I don't stay up all night for that many people. That makes you pretty special.

Then nothing.

For nearly three minutes there is nothing. Not even those little dots that signify Ashley is typing.

Dani wonders if she actually fell asleep, until her phone chimes once again.

 _Me too._

[] []

The phone and in-person conversations become more and more regular. Before class, during class (sometimes), after class. At lunch. At dinner. After dinner. All night. After the weekend of the movie, their talks become deeper and more personal; the girls feeling more and more comfortable with each other.

Dani talks about her family and growing up as a quintuplet and how they go so much attention and as much as it's cool; it get very annoying and intrusive after a while.

She tells Ashley about the time she and her sisters were out shopping for prom dresses and some woman was saying all these mean thing about Finn because of her CP and the crutches she used to walk.

"People suck," Ashley comments.

"You're preaching to the choir, honey," Dani replies, a lesson she, and her siblings, learned the hard way.

In return, Ashley tells Danielle about her family: large, loud and Mexican.

"Trust me, if you saw my family, you would understand," She explains one day as the two take a break on the, now dead, grass between classes about a month after their first meeting..

"I think I have a slight idea," Danielle nods. "My uncle is Mexican and I spent a lot of time with him and his family, so I can only imagine."

"Oh I think my family is ten times worse than anything you've ever been through," Ashley shudders.

"That's because their your family! You are automatically conditioned to think their awful when looking from the outside. I'm sure the're fine," She smiles, laying her head on Ashley's shoulder.

The brunette doesn't shrug her friend off, better yet she lays her head on top of Danielle's and the two stay like that talking about anything and everything until they have to leave for class.

Or, rather, Ashley has class; Danielle just offers to walk her to it.

[] []

The night before Thanksgiving break is set to start, Danielle is over at Ashley's apartment, a regular occurrence over the past few weeks. Ashley is bundled up in blankets, claiming it is freezing cold. Though at only sixty degrees, what is cold to Ashley, is perfectly content to Dani, who had experienced some very cold temperatures in her time.

"Aren't you cold?" Ashley asks for the tenth time that afternoon.

"No, I'm fine," Dani says, again. "I'm making food, you want some?" Danielle asks, getting up off the couch and moving into the kitchen, feeling very comfortable in her friend's place.

"Yes! Make me some of those Hot Pocket things we got the other day."

"You got it!" Dani pops a plate full of the frozen snack into the microwave, and sets it for the directed time before walking away and resuming her place on the couch.

"Oh, hey! They re-released Super Monkey Ball on iPhone!" Danielle happily cheers, leaning closer to her friend.

"What is that?" Ashley asks, her brow furrowing at the thumbnail for the game.

"It's this game my dad used to have and we played it _all_ the time as kids. It was so fun! We used to get so mad at each other for reaching higher levels the rest of us hadn't. We fought so much my dad eventually took it away and didn't allow us to play it anymore. I'm getting it!" She announces, quickly buying and downloading the game just as the microwave goes off. As the game loads, she retrieves the hot plate and sets it between them on the couch, per routine.

Ashley doesn't wait for their dinner to cool off; she digs right in, crying out when the hot, molten interior burns the inside of her mouth.

"It's hot, smart one!" Danielle shouts at her friends' stupidity.

"Yep," Ashley sighs, tears in her eyes. "It's hot." She stets the bitten into piece back on the plate, willing them to cool off faster.

Dani laughs, and, shaking her head, she pulls up the classic video game.

"Alright, show me how to do this," Ashley instructs, scooting closer to Danielle, and her smart phone.

Danielle's nose instantly fills with Ashley's smell: the products her hair stylist used at the salon the other day, and the Vera Wang perfume she always wears; the one in the heart shaped bottle that always sits on her dresser.

The smell makes her heart race; butterflies flutter in her stomach.

"Okay," Dani sighs, trying to keep her voice steady. "It's really easy."

Ashley watches on as Dani plays through the first few levels, studying her movements as she turns her phone this way and that trying to reach to goal without falling.

"You wanna try?" Dani asks, passing the phone over.

"Yeah," Ashley nods, suddenly smug. She starts back at the beginning, and passes the first few levels with ease; but by the ninth, she's had to start over three times.

"Ugh!" She growls, really exaggerating her movements as she tries to beat the level.

"You got this," Danielle encourages.

Finally, eleven tries later, Ashely successfully reaches the goal, and the game sings her victory.

"Yes!" Ashely cheers, throwing her hands in the air, and nearly drops the phone on her face.

"You did it! I told you!" Dani adds to the noise, wrapping her friend in a hug.

When the two pull apart, the air is suddenly full of static; potential energy just waiting to be expensed.

The two girls lock eyes, their breathing timed perfectly in synch. In a split second Dani's eyes flick from Ashley's deep brown eyes, to her pink lips, and back again. And the next she's laying a hand on her cheek and leaning close. Ashley closes the imperceptible gap and their lips meet.

[] []

Thanksgiving break goes by with radio silence between Danielle and Ashley; possibly due to both of them visiting their families, or it could be the two are still processing what happened between the two of them the night before Danielle flew back to New York and Ashley made the two hour drive down to her family home.

A week of family, food, and playing with nieces and nephews who seem to be growing like weeds.

"Again!" Wyatt cheers as he flops backwards on the trampoline.

"Again?" Danielle asks her nephew, pulling on her pony tail to tighten it.

"Yeah!"

"Okay," Dani replies, getting a few jumps in before looking down at the young boy. "Ready?"

He nods, his face alight with joy. Dani jumps three more times before quickly double jumping her nephew and sending him flying into the air, the cold Fall night fills with his squeals of delight.

Parades were watched, the house filling with wonderful smells. Food was devoured and then cleaned up before nearly every member of the Castle family collapses onto the couch deep in the throes of a food coma.

Finally, the night of Black Friday, after being up since the wee hours of the morning getting Christmas and maybe some completely frivolous shopping done with her mom and sisters, Danielle is laying on the couch, cuddling her dog, watching cartoons with her nieces and nephew, when her phone goes off.

She would recognize that ring tone anywhere, and nearly jumps out of her skin when it comes on.

She pushes the home button to see the notification; eyes filling with tears as she reads the message.

It's only three words, but they are the best three words Danielle James Castle has read in the longest time.

 _I miss you._


	8. Bound to Each Other's Hearts

**A/N: Edit. I changed my timeline a bit and had to fix this chapter to do so.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

"I thought you might be over here," Rick chuckles, joining his son on a bench not far from the field where the younger man will be getting married in a few short minutes. Despite the gorgeous spring day, there was no one around, making the already intimate ceremony even more so.

"Yeah; just needed a minute," Austin shrugs, a hand slapping on his thigh. The boy clears his throat, and meets his father's eyes, trying desperately to keep the tears trying to fill his eyes at bay. "God!" he sighs, looking up and blinking hard as he fails.

Rick grips his son's shoulder, slapping down hard.

"Sorry; I told myself I wasn't going to cry," Austin confesses.

"You're allowed to cry," Castle answers. "Today is just as emotional for you as everyone else."

"Yeah," the groom nods. He stops, and looks at his dad, trying to decide if he wants to say the thought crossing his mind. "Do you think this was too fast? I mean we just got back together last summer."

After breaking up their sophomore year of college, after trying to make a long distance relationship work, Austin and his bride-to-be Christine, had rekindled their romance the previous summer after a chance meeting at a mutual friend's party. Their romance returned hot and heavy, and four months after getting back together Austin proposed, and four months after that, there they were: sitting in a park in DC waiting for their wedding to start.

"I think it was right for the two of you," Castle answers, staring out across the pond they were in front of, watching ducks swim by. "No two relationships; no two love stories are the same. Everyone's path is different. Yours and Christine's; Danielle and Ashely's; your mom and me. Don't think about too fast or too slow; too big or small. All that matters is love. You love her, right?"

"So much," Austin nods, coughing to clear his throat.

"Then that's all that should matter." Rick stands, pulling Austin with him. The father's arm wraps around his son's shoulders as they head back to their family and friends gathered to watch two people they love dearly become husband and wife. As they walk to the altar, Austin stops multiple times to say hello to friends and family, getting many hugs and kisses and praises of congratulations. His mother and siblings are in the front row, a spot left open for Rick.

"Are you alright, baby?" Kate asks her son, standing and wrapping him in a hug.

"Yeah, just needed a minute," He tells her when the two pull apart.

Kate cups his cheek, studying the man her son had become.

Dark brown hair that made his blue eyes pop, his father's strong jawline and cheeky, crooked grin that always gave him away when he got into mischief as a child. The soft grey suit with a butter yellow tie and vest, and a boutineer of a yellow rose bud and sprigs of white babies breathe clipped to his jacket lapel that coordinated perfectly with the pink cherry blossoms blooming all around them.

That was the only thing Christine wanted for their wedding: To get married under the cherry blossoms. And who was he not to make the woman he loves wish come true? The wedding had been planned around the event, every detail specifically arranged to work with the spring flower.

"Mom," Austin smiles, taking his mother's hand. "Don't cry! If you cry then everyone is gonna cry." The boy close to tears himself.

"I know," Kate sniffs. "I know; but I can't help it. I am just so happy for you two."

"Thank you, momma," Austin says, hugging her again.

"We're ready whenever you are," the minister says, coming up to the groom's side. He's tall, bald head, deep, dark skin, kind eyes, wearing a dark black suit, only broken up by the white clerical collar around his neck

"Go, go," Kate releases him, smoothing out the creases her hug had made in his jacket.

Austin follows the minister up the two steps to the altar, taking a deep breath before nodding to the minister who responds by waving one giant hand towards the back of the congregation to a coordinator handling the bridal party.

Music starts up, an instrumental version of Christina Perri's 'A Thousand Years', and after a moment, the procession starts.

The first to come down is the flower girl, Christine's god daughter, Sammy. Her dress is a miniature version of the bridesmaids, and she's added white fairy wings, and a yellow and white flower crown that match the girls' bouquets. As she walks, she sprinkles yellow and white flower petals from a white wicker basket.

When the flower girl gets halfway down the aisle, the next couple starts walking: Austin's best man, his brother Liam, and Christine's maid of honor, her best friend Aliya. The cycle continues: couples of bridesmaids and groomsmen, walking down the aisle, arm-in-arm, one right after the other. All the men wear the same suit as Austin, minus the jacket, and have similar boutineers pinned to their vests. The girls wear variations of the same long, yellow dress: strapless, one shouldered, two shouldered; each tailored to the specific body type and personality.

Once everyone is in their places by the altar: boys on the right, girls on the left, the wedding coordinator cues the bride.

Escorted by her father, Christine's face is alight with her smile; eyes only for her groom.

Her blonde hair is curled and pulled back off her face, a sheer veil is clipped into the updo. Strands of jewels cover her neck and wrist, and diamond studs glitter from her ears. Her dress is an ivory, strapless, sweetheart, mermaid, with a jeweled sash at her bust line. Her pastel pink high heels can just be seen under the skirt of her dress.

The music ends when Christine and her dad, Scott, reach the altar. And with one final kiss, he gives over his daughter to her new husband, and sits down next to his wife, across from Rick and Kate.

"Weddings are about love," The minister begins. "About turning two families into one. Today we gather to do both: celebrate love and bring these two families together. . ."


	9. SKATE

**A/N: So you know what I realized? We are now current with this little world of mine I've created. The events of the first FLM book started back in January of this year. So that's pretty cool, huh?**

 **Anyway, do you guys remember Sk8er Kate from back in season 6? Well that idea has always stuck with me and I thought I would bring a little of that into this world.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

The cracks of the skateboards echo off the garage doors as the group of boys perform tricks out in the street. Using trashcans and recycling bins along with the official ramps and rails they already own, the boys try and outdo each other; each trying harder and harder tricks and cheering when they land them.

"Dude! Watch this," Cade gets his friends attention before jumping and grinding along the metal rail he had brought out. He lands with a snap and circles the cul-de-sac while he friends cheer him on and try to match his trick.

When Liam tries to grind, he hits the rail wrong and bails not even a second into the trick. The boy and the board go two different ways; but luckily none are hurt.

"Dude," the friends laugh at Liam's expense, and the boy shoves on the one closest to him, sending the eighth grader stumbling a few steps.

"Car!" The call is sent out to move everything out of the way as a car comes down their street.

"Yo! That's my mom!"

Kate waves to her sons and their friends as she pulls into the driveway and the garage. The teens wave back; she's glad her boys have picked such a good group to hang out with. At least that's how they seem to her; when she's not around it could be totally a different story.

"Hey!" Kate smiles at the group as they move their makeshift skate park back. "You boys staying out of trouble?"

"Always!" Jonathan calls to her.

"Hey, momma," Austin says, wrapping her in a hug.

"Hey, baby. You finish your homework?"

"Uh-huh," the teen nods.

"Good," Kate starts to turn away, closing the car door behind her, when her son's call stops her.

"Will you get us pizza?"

"What?"

"Will you get us pizza," Austin repeats, and gives her a half smile as she turns back to face him again.

"What did dad say?"

"He said to ask you," he shrugs.

"No."

"No?! Why?"

"Because I said."

"Okay," Austin sighs, turning back to his friends, and Kate can hear him relay the information to them.

Kate heads inside, leaving her coat and bag in the mud room and moves through the kitchen and the living room where two of her three daughters are sitting in front of the TV.

"Where's Danielle?"

"Practice," Finn replies, turning away from her show to meet her mom's eyes.

"Oh, okay," Kate nods, heading for her husband's office, where she finds him at his desk. "Hey," she smiles.

"Hey,"

"So Dani's at practice?"

"Yeah, I'm picking her up in about a half hour," Castle answers, standing from his chair and meeting her halfway. "How was your day?"

"Long," Kate sighs, kissing her husband. "Everyone needed something from me all at once. And then I was stuck in meetings all afternoon." She lays her head on his shoulder for a second, catching her breath after a long day.

"I'm sorry," he says, squeezing her tight for a second.

"It's fine," she shrugs, looking up and stealing a kiss. "Hey did you tell the boys I would get them and their friends pizza for dinner?"

"I told them to _ask_ you, yes."

"And what did you say?"

"I told them it was fine with me if it was fine with you."

"Okay," she nods, turning away and heading for the stairs.

She returns a short time later, changed out of work clothes and into jeans and a t-shirt and heels were replaced for sneakers.

Kate bypasses the living room and instead heads back out to the garage. The boys are still out in the street throwing tricks, their skateboards cracking off the pavement. She puts on her bike helmet and an extra set of knee and elbow pads before grabbing an extra skateboard and rolling down the driveway. At the bottom she jumps over the curb and circles the cul-de-sac as the boys look at her in disbelief.

"Dude, you never told me your mom knew how to skate," Jackson says, leaning into Austin.

"I didn't know she could," Austin shrugs.

"Okay, here's the deal," Kate says joining the group of middle schoolers. "I will get you boys pizza-" the teens start cheers and giving each other high fives before Kate cuts them off. "- _if_ you four can beat me. I'm challenging you to a game of S.K.A.T.E and if you win I'll by you pizza, but if I win, you're on your own. Deal?"

The group of friends standing in front of her are giving her the blankest most confused stares she has ever seen.

"So wait," Cade starts, trying to wrap what Kate had just said around his brain. "Us four against you and if we win we get pizza?"

"That's what I said," Kate nods.

"Is she serious?" Cade whispers to the twins.

"My mom is always serious," Liam nods.

"I think we should do it," Jackson pipes up. "I mean how good could she be?" Realizing Kate could hear everything he just said, he quickly adds, "No offense."

"Okay," Austin nods. "Us four against you. Do we get to pick who throws the trick?"

"That's fine with me," Kate says.

"Alright," her eldest son finally agrees. "You're on."

S.K.A.T.E is a variation on the popular basketball game H.O.R.S.E in which a shot is made and if the second person does not make it they get a letter. The same is said for the skateboarding version, but instead of shooting baskets, tricks are thrown.

The game begins with a simple jump over the curb as Kate had expertly completed moments before. After that the tricks get harder and harder. Ollies, kick flips, grinds, jumps over overturned trash cans, various combinations of tricks; each meant to cause the opposite team to mess up and get another letter.

Half an hour, and a short pause to let Castle leave to pick up Danielle from cheerleading practice, later the game is tied at four letter a piece, and if Kate doesn't land the next trick, she will lose.

As it's his turn to call the trick, Cade pauses for a minute, thinking his combination through. "Okay. Go up the ramp, stall at the top, come down and do a 540. You get three pushes when you come off the ramp." He says, adding the extra momentum push into the combination.

"Liam: it's your turn." The boy's friends point out, and the second youngest Castle child looks to his mom and gives her a half smile.

Mother against son. Winner takes all.

Liam goes first, getting a good start further down the street before rolling up the plastic ramp and stalling on the top with his front wheels. He comes down backwards and changes directions before pushing off with his foot twice and throwing the final jump. He lands perfectly, and the boys cheer, slapping five and bumping fists.

Kate starts the same way as her son, hits the ramp and stalls. As she comes down, she doesn't switch directions, but instead throws the 540 on opposite feet. Unfortunately she doesn't land the jump and the board goes one way while she goes another, stumbling a few steps before catching herself.

The boys are freaking out having just one, and Kate smiles watching them.

"Good job," she says, holding up a hand. All four boys slap her five, and she gets a hug from Austin.

"Wow mom! I didn't know you could do that."

"Yeah, well I had to keep a few of my secrets under my sleeve for a moment like this," she smiles. "Alright, come on. Did you boys tell your parent's you were staying for dinner?" Kate points the question to her sons' friends.

"Uh huh," they reply, following her inside the house.

"Alright. What toppings do you want?"


	10. Tarzan

It's a lazy Sunday afternoon; a football game on TV, snacks on the coffee table in front of them. His daughter on the couch to his left, a book in her hand, his wife in the armchair to his right, a mirror image to their daughter.

The girls aren't paying much attention to the game; not their team to support. But they look up every now and again; watch a play or two, before returning to their fictional adventures.

He has control of the remote for once, flipping between two of that day's games; it's play-offs, so football is on nearly every channel. Much to the delight of his family, who, though they appreciate the sport, think having it on all day everyday was getting to be a bit much.

His daughter looks up, her hair falling into her face. As she tucks it behind her ear again, she leans over to him, a finger holding her place.

"Dad? What's this word?" She asks him, pointing to the un-known word in question.

"Strained," he answers. "It means you're working really hard to do something. In this case he's working hard to see in the dark."

"Oh. Okay, thanks," she smiles, leaning back next to the cushions. Pages are turned, terrible calls are mad on the game, the crowd cheering their disgust.

He causally reaches over and takes his daughters hand, lining up their palms, and the bony heel of the girls hand with his. He's surprised at how big her hand had gotten; all long fingers and chipped nail polish.

He links their fingers together then, picking up his beer can off the end table and taking a swig with the other.

The girl doesn't mind, lets their hands stay that way as she continues to read, so close to the end.

He absentmindedly rubs her knuckles and the webbing between her thumb and pointer finger.

He squeezes once.

 _I love you._

She squeezes back.

 _I love you, too._

[] []

It's a husband holding his wife as she cries, her hands buried in the cotton t-shirt he wore.

The double, wooden doors close behind their son and the nurses wheeling him to the OR.

"He's gonna be fine, Kate," he reassure once again, and she releases his shirt enough that he can take her hand and lead them over to the row of chairs in the very warm waiting room.

A coffee machine sits on a counter, a water cooler gurgling on its stand beside it. Magazines are laid out on tables, news and afternoon talk shows play on the TVs hung on the walls. A small bookshelf in the corner holds picture books and toys, where a young boy is playing with the plastic dinosaurs.

"We should have caught it sooner," Kate repeats, still blaming herself, knocking their linked hands on the arm of the chair she sits on.

"You couldn't have known; none of us could," Castle reassures, turning to her and uses a finger to get her eyes.

"But if I had just taken him in, someone would have caught it!" She releases his hand and stands, pacing again.

Originally thought to be a simply 24-hour stomach bug, the illness turned gravely serious in the early hours of the day. After rushing to the hospital, and being seen by a handful of doctors who poked and prodded the ninth grader until he was pushing them away in protest, the bug turned out to be appendicitis, that, had it gone undiagnosed any longer, would have taken a turn for the worse very fast.

"Kate." Castle starts, his voice sharp, trying to get his wife's attention. When she looks at him her eyes are filled with unshed tears, and she rakes her hair back before sitting next to him again. "You didn't do anything wrong," he says again. "Sometimes things like this happen; and we can't prevent them as much as we try."

"Yeah, but I'm his mom! I'm supposed to keep him from getting hurt. I'm supposed to know the sicknesses he has!"

"Kate, how many times have our kids gotten sick in their lives?" She doesn't answer, but huffs a breath, and shakes her head, picking up on his tactics; so he does it for her. "A million, right? And how many times have you or I missed it?"

Silence.

"Exactly. Out of the million sicknesses, this is the first. I'd say we have a pretty good record," He smiles, and takes her hand again.

When a blue scrub clad nurse come to get them forty minutes later, the parents' hands are still linked. As she pushes open the waiting room door, Rick and Kate jump up to meet her.

"Austin did just fine," she smiles, and watched the parents let out breaths they didn't realize they were holding. "They're just finishing up, so if you want to come with me, we'll meet them in recovery." She turns back down the hallway, and Rick and Kate follow her to the curtained off recovery area.

A few minutes later, Austin is wheeled out by a team of nurses, still under anesthesia. An oft washed, tan blanket lays across his torso, and the clear prongs of an oxygen tube stick up his nose.

The nurses busy themselves for a time hooking Austin up to monitors and checking his IV before leaving the family in peace.

It's a long, quiet quarter hour waiting for Austin to wake up. Rick and Kate share whispered conversation, and send a report to the boys' scared siblings and grandparents.

But when he does wake up, Kate's are the first pair of eyes Austin see.

"Hey, buddy," the mom says, taking her son's hand in her own and smiling at him. "You gonna be just fine."

[] []

It's a husband supporting his wife, their hands clasped as she squeezes _so_ hard.

The doctor is telling her to push again; the nurse is holding her other hand and helping to prop her back up.

"Push, Grid, push," he prompts, leaning close to her ear. She's tired, her hair stuck to her face with sweat. He pushes the dark strands back and wipes her forehead with a towel.

The contraction ends and Ingrid falls back, whimpering and wiping away tears as fast as they come.

"You are doing so good," He whispers, kissing her temple.

"Just a little while longer, he's almost here," the doctor smiles from his position at Ingrid's feet

The couple wanted to wait to find out the sex of their baby, so the doctor calling it a 'he' was simply a temporary pronoun to fill space until they met the child.

"Okay, Ingrid, one more good push and you'll be able to meet your baby," the doctor smiles as the next contraction starts.

"Come on, Grid. You got this," Liam encourages, losing feeling in his hand again as Ingrid squeezes.

She groans and cries out, gripping even harder.

The doctor tells her to stop pushing, and in the next moment, a tiny, slimy thing is being brought into the world.

"She's here. She's here!" Liam cheers, his voice going up an octave as he sees his daughter for the first time.

"She?" Ingrid asks.

"It's a girl," Liam sighs, in utter disbelief.

Once her mouth is cleared, and her cries are filling the room, the doctor places the baby on Ingrid's chest.

The new mom starts crying, studying every feature on her daughter's tiny face. New parents count fingers and toes, letting the moment take over everything else going on in the room.

"You did it, momma. You did it," Liam says, voice breaking as he starts crying along with his wife and daughter.

"Oh! She's beautiful," Ingrid whispers.

"She's beautiful," Liam echoes.

And then father takes his daughter's tiny hand for the first time.

He squeezes once.

 _I love you._


	11. A Tissue for your Issue

**A/N: Jumping into the future for this one. I saw the 'tissue trick' in a YouTube video and knew right away I needed to use it for something and I finally found a place for it.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **((Edit: Caught a mistake with my timeline I hadn't realized I made. Hopefully everything is fixed now))**

* * *

" _In 1000 feet: take Exit 95-A onto Southern State Parkway."_

The GPS could barely be heard over the voices coming from behind her and over the wailing infant in the carrier to her right. They had literally just gotten onto the highway, and already this drive was going to be a long one; Danielle could feel it.

Their annual summer pilgrimage to the Hamptons was underway and nearly everyone was coming except for Deacon, who was on tour with his band and would be stopping by when he could. She, Ashley and the kids had gotten in a few days ago, and were already settled at the beach-front home.

Danielle, Miyana, and a few of the kids (Macey, Jaycee and baby Henry) had been volun-told to drive back into the city to pick up their youngest sister from the airport; and once Finn arrives, everyone in their family would be there, just like old times.

"Mommy?" Macey calls, from her spot next to her cousin in the very back.

"What, baby?" Danielle answers, meeting her daughter's eyes in the rearview mirror.

"Baby Henry is crying," the toddler says, pointing out the obvious fact about her baby brother.

Danielle meets Miyana's eyes, from the passenger seat next to her, and the two sisters share smiles and an eye roll.

"I know, baby." Oh, she knew. Her son had been crying ever since Ashley had strapped him into his car seat before they left the house. "But there isn't anything I can do about it right now."

"Hold on," Miyana says, then un-hooks her seatbelt and crawls between the front seats and into the second row; completely illegal, but necessary. She sits in the middle seat, strapping herself in once again. "Henry," she croons, trying to get her nephew's attention. But despite all her attempts, the infant's cries continue.

"Hand me that, will you?" Mia directs Danielle, pointing to the backpack that replaced her body in the passenger seat. She reaches behind her and hands it to Mia, who reaches in and pulls out a pack of travel tissues.

"What are we gonna do with that? Wipe his snotty nose?" Dani questions, changing lanes.

"No!" Mia cries. "It's this trick I learned when Jace was a baby. She used to cry in the car _all the time_ and I was telling my friend Cat about it–"

"Isn't that the one who works at Drag shows?" Danielle questions, trying to remember her sister's friend.

"Yeah," Mia nods. "Anyway, she told me about this trick she used on her son. You take a tissue and run it over their face. She said she doesn't know how it works, but it puts them to sleep and they stop crying. So I tried it on Jace, and it worked! Like I couldn't believe it."

"So that's what you're going to do?" Danielle asks, looking over to her crying son.

"Yes!" Miyana answers, and starts running the tissue over Henry's face. At first, he doesn't care, just keeps on crying. But after a few minutes, his focus is shifted and his cries have been reduced to whimpers, then nothing at all.

Ten minutes later he's asleep.

"Magic," Miyana whispers once the crying stops, causing her sisters to laugh and they quickly slap hands over their mouths to keep from waking the sleeping baby.

The little girls in the back are occupied with a DVD on the player over their heads, of which the adults remember loving when they were young, and now with the infant asleep, the adults can finally carry on a proper conversation.

The sisters catch up on events of the year: Mia extending her contract for the play she's currently in, Danielle enjoying her hiatus before gearing up for the new season of the television show she's on the crew for. They talk about their kids, because nearly every conversation lately seems to end up on that subject, and eventually start jamming out to the radio.

Before long they are pulling off the highway and onto the long drive leading to the airport, and Mia starts giving her older sister direction on where to go to meet their youngest sister. Dani changes lanes a few times, and after getting cut off by a jerk of a driver, she lays on her horn and flips him off.

"Learn how to drive!" Danielle yells at the guy.

"Seriously," Miyana agrees. "Um, pull over here," she points out. Danielle does as she's told, pulling up next to the curb by the correct airline. She puts the car in park and rolls down all the windows, letting the summer air, and the sounds of a bustling airport to flow through.

"Macey! Jace! Are you guys looking for Auntie Finn?" Danielle calls back to her daughter and niece.

"Where is she?" Jaycee asks, looking around and leaning a far forward as her car seat would allow.

"You gotta look for her," Miyana replies to her daughter. "She's coming out of that door," she points, "very soon."

The little girls take their job of looking for their aunt very seriously and every time the sliding door opened, they pipe up, hopeful, but fall back disappointed when it wasn't their Auntie Finn. Finally, fifteen minutes later, the first shout of "There she is! Auntie Finn!" echoes through the car, and soon the door open revealing the young woman.

Finn follows the shouts of her nieces and approaches the car smiling.

"Hey!" she calls, watching her sister get out and round the car to her.

"Hey!" Danielle is the first to reach the baby of their family and wraps the small woman in a hug before pressing a kiss into her cheek. "Flight okay?"

"Yeah," Finn shrugs. "As good as it can be."

"Oh, I can only imagine," Dani chuckles. "Come on, put your stuff in the back."

The two turn the back of the SUV where Mia is waiting with the trunk open. Mia hugs her sister then holds her at arm's length. "Oh my god! You look fantastic!"

Wearing a pale purple sundress and white sandals, large, round sunglasses over her eyes and her hair curled into loose waves, Finn looked gorgeous, in the girlie-bohemian way she always has.

"Shut up," Finn replies, shaking her head and looking down at her toes.

"It's true!" Miyana insists.

"Hi, Auntie Finn!"

"Hi, Macey!" Finn replies, stowing her suitcase and moving around the car. She sets her crutches at her feet before getting in herself. She leans over the seat to her nieces and blows kisses at the excited little girls.

"Auntie Finn! Grandpa helped us build a sandcastle! And it was this big!" Macey explains, stretching her arms as far as they would go.

"Really? Did he show you how to dig a moat around it and fill it with water for the alligators?"

"No," the young girl replies. "You can do that?"

"Sure you can! If it's still early enough when we get home, I'll show you how."

"Jaycee Rene! Get back in your seat right now," Miyana scolds her daughter who had unbuckled herself and was standing up, playing with her cousin and aunt.

"No!" Jace whines.

"Yes," Mia insists.

"No!" More whining, close to tears.

"Yes." This time Finn jumps in, trying to help. "The sooner you get buckled, the sooner we can leave and I can play on the beach with you guys."

Eventually Jaycee complies and a minute later, Danielle is pulling back into traffic, heading towards the highway.


	12. What's This?

**A/N: Before Danielle met Ashley, she had another special girl in her life. This is the beginning of their story.**

* * *

It was a fairly normal Tuesday morning in Mr. Imhoff's fifth grade class. They had just transitioned back to their desks after finishing their 'Readers Workshop' rotations for the day, and the young teacher was having his class of 23 do the next few pages in their spelling workbooks using the words for that week.

Seated in groups of four-to-five at round tables instead of traditional desks, the class was far from completely silent; hushed conversation and giggles filled the room, and a group of typically rowdy boys began throwing balls of paper from one table to another.

All of the mischief came to an abrupt stop when the principal poked his head into the room.

"Gregg? Can I talk to you for a second?"

The teacher nodded, moving towards the door.

"Work quietly for a few minute, okay guys?" He instructs, getting nods and murmured replies before following his boss out into the hallway.

He's met with a mother-daughter pair, both with blonde hair and blue eyes. The older woman (obviously the younger's mother) had sharp features and an icy stair almost as if she would rather be anywhere but here. Dressed in a black pencil skirt with a silk Robbin's egg blue blouse tucked into it and a matching black blazer over top, and finished with flesh toned heels and hair pulled back into a tight bun, she breathed serious business woman.

The younger girl had a sweet, round face and a gap-toothed smile where her adult teeth hadn't quite come in yet. She had a light pink backpack and was holding a lunch box with 'The Powerpuff Girls' on it; quite popular with girls her age. She was wearing a variation on the school uniform: a white Peter Pan collared shirt under and tan jumper dress, white, lace edged socks and purple polka dotted sneakers gave a pop of her girlie personality to the uniform, and her hair was twisted into a single French plait.

"Hello, Gregg Imhoff," the teacher introduced himself to the older woman, extending a hand.

"Margret DeCarlo," the mom replied, returning the handshake. "Very nice to meet you."

"You too."

"Here are all the forms we were told to fill out," Margret says, handing Gregg a manila file folder with the paperwork inside.

"Great, thanks," he says, taking the folder and, tucking it under his arm, turns to the girl standing next to him.

"Hi! I'm Mr. Imhoff. I'm going to be your teacher," Gregg smiled to the girl, holding out a hand.

The child smiled back at him, shaking his hand back. "I'm Saccone. I'm going to be your student."

Everyone laughed at that.

Precocious little thing.

"Well I'll leave you to it. Saccone, have good day," the principal, Mr. Bell, told the group, patting the girl on the shoulder, before turning down the hallway.

"I should be going as well," Saccone's mother starts. "Saccone, Papa or I will be here to pick you up after school. Meet us at the flag pole, alright?"

"I remember," The girl nods. "I love you, Mama."

"I love you too, sweet girl." And with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, the mother follows the principal down the hallway.

Teacher and student watch her mother leave and when she turns the corner, Saccone pipes up.

"You don't have to call me Saccone if you don't want to. You can call me Sass. That's what my teacher and friends at my old school called me." She finishes the statement a little wistful, as if stuck in a favorite memory.

"Well I will do that," Gregg smiles. "Where was your other school?"

"Vermont. We lived there since I was two. My mom's work moved down here so me and my Papa and my Nona had to move too."

"Do you miss it?"

"Yeah," Sass confides.

"Well I'm sure you'll find something great about living here very soon," he tells her, laying a hand on her backpack. "Hey, were you able to get you school supplies? I'm just wondering. Not a big deal if you didn't."

"Yes," Sass nods, reaching back and patting her book bag. "Most of it was stuff I already had for my old school," she answers with a shrug. "I only had to get a few things."

"Great. Come on, let's go inside." And teacher leads student into her new classroom.

As he had suspected, Mr. Imhoff walks back into his classroom to find the quiet scene he had left his class in had dissolved into utter chaos. Almost none of his students were working, instead they were out of their seats and talking with their friends; definitely not what they were supposed to be doing.

"Hey!" His shout silences the class instantly. "I leave you guys alone for five minutes and this is what you do? Not cool." The fifth graders could tell their teacher was very angry, and maybe even a bit disappointed in them. "Get in your seats," he tells the remaining few who did not rush to sit down once he started to yell.

He turns back to Sass, who is looking a bit more scared than she did when he first met her.

"Guys, this is Saccone. She's gonna be joining our class." The kids give the new girl smiles and waves and scattered hellos. The same group of trouble making boys snickered at the new girl's name, but were instantly silenced by a look from their teacher and a loss of recess privileges.

"Okay, let's put you right here," Mr. Imhoff says, leading Saccone to a table of four, to which he pulls up an extra chair. "This is Danielle, Miles, Eli and Jessica," he introduces, going around the table. Danielle had blonde, curly hair and blue eyes, both similar in color to Saccone's own features; Miles had deeply tanned skin, dark brown eyes, rimmed with glasses, and black hair that was spiked up with gel; Eli had lighter, longer brown hair, and green eyes; and Jessica and brown hair and eyes, and freckles that dusted her nose and cheeks. All four kids smile and say hello, and make room for their new classmate.

Saccone begins taking all of her supplies out of her backpack and sets them on the table in front of her. Notebooks, binders, folders, a green pencil box; everything comes out. Mr. Imhoff takes the things she doesn't need and replaces them with her workbooks and textbooks. She slides all of her materials into the pocket on the back of her chair, like everyone else has it, and leaves out her pencil box and spelling workbook.

While her new teacher gets the rest of the class back on track, Sass puts her lunchbox into the basket with the others and hangs her backpack in the available cubby. When she sits back at her table, Danielle looks up from her work and smiles at her.

"I like your sweatshirt." The sweater in question, that Sass had pulled on over her uniform top as the classroom was cold, was emblazoned with the characters from 'Nightmare Before Christmas,' and also happened to be one of Danielle's favorite movies.

"Thanks," Sass smiles, opening her workbook to the page they were working on.

"Do you wanna sit with me at lunch?"

"Sure."

"Okay," Danielle nods.

And a friendship was made.


	13. National Sibling Day

**A/N: Happy National Sibling Day! If you have a sibling (or someone close enough) remember to tell them you love them especially today. Shoutout to my two brothers who had to deal with me growing up. I love you both SO much.**

 **So for this chapter I challenged myself to do it all with dialogue. so have fun figuring out who is saying what.**

* * *

"What are we watching?"

"Shh!"

"Shut up! I can't hear!"

"Scoot over."

"Ow! You're on my hand!"

"Sorry."

"I'm stealing some of your popcorn."

"No! Liam! Get your own."

"Come on. Just a little bit?"

"Not a chance."

"Shut up!"

[] []

"So, wait. Is he that one girls' son?"

"Yes. She gave him for adoption and now he lives in that haunted house with those guys."

"And his real mom is gonna come back or something?"

"I can't tell you."

"Come on, Tin! Tell me."

"No! It will spoil the entire thing. Just watch.

"Shut up! I can't hear."

[] []

"Don't go in there! Don't go in there! Oh my god! He's gonna die!"

"He's not gonna die! He has the amulet: he can't die."

"I can't watch!"

"Don't be such a baby."

[] []

"Ahh!"

"Shit."

"Damn it, Mia! Look what you did."

"Well you said nothing scary happened."

"And nothing scary _did_ happen. You're just a baby."

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

"You both are acting like babies."

"Shut up!"

[] []

"Nemo, did you see Bryan's latest post?"

"No why? Let me see. Oh my god!"

"What? Let me see. Oh! Nemo! He likes you!"

"But it could be about someone else, right? I mean it's not like he specifically says my name. So it could be about someone else."

"If you guys are just gonna talk: I'm gonna turn it off."

"Fine."

"Good!"

"It was too scary anyway."

[] []

"I'm going downstairs. Liam, you coming?"

"Nah, I think I'm gonna stay here."

"Fine. Whatever."

[] []

"Don't talk to him, Nemo. He's not worth it."

"Really, you think?"

"I've known him since seventh grade and he hasn't changed at all. I'm sure."

"Okay. Thanks, Liam."

"Sure thing."

[] []

"Hey! What're you guys watching?"

" _Kick Flip_. It's that new skateboarding movie with Allie Parish in it."

"Oh. Cool. Where's your brother?"

"Downstairs. He's mad we wouldn't let him watch that horror move he's been wanting to watch."

"Dad! That was mine. Get your own."

"You weren't gonna finish it."

"Well I'm not now!"

"Here: have some of mine."

"Thanks."

"Shut up! I'm watching."


	14. Quest for the Dinos

"Oh! Dinos!" The little boy in his arms shouts in awe. They were standing in front of the giant T-Rex replica in the lobby of the Natural History Museum; hadn't even gotten to the good stuff yet.

"What do you see, Wyatt?" Rick asks his grandson, trying to see the world through the two year-old's eyes.

"Dinos!" he points again.

"That's a pretty big dino, huh?" Castle continues, walking towards the information desk.

"It a big dino," Wyatt nods, not taking his eye off the prehistoric beast.

Castle had offered to watch Wyatt when his mother got called into work unexpectedly and his father was on a field trip with his older sister. What better way to spend a cold, snowy February day than getting lost in the museum? Just like he had done when Alexis was Wyatt's age.

"Hi!" The kind woman at the desk smiles at him. "What brings you today?"

"Dinos!" Wyatt shouts.

"Oh my goodness! Are you two on a Dinosaur hunt?"

"Say 'Yes!'" Castle prompts, bouncing the boy in his arms.

"Yes!" Wyatt echoes.

"Well I hope you find some," the woman smiles again, passing Rick a handful of pamphlets, including a few on the dinosaur exhibit.

"Thank you," Castle nods and the two head deeper into the museum to see what they can see.

They hit up the Africa exhibit first. There's only a handful of other people in the darkened room with them. A school group in their navy and red uniforms, traveling around with their knapsacks in two lines; a mother with her three kids, one right around Wyatt's age; and a few others that pay no mind to the throng of children filling the room with noise.

Wyatt is immediately frightened by the large animals in front of him and buries his face in his grandfather's neck.

"Oh, buddy," Castle murmurs. "It's alright." He smooths a hand down the boy's back, talking to him quietly.

The man next to them, heavyset with a large mustache, wearing jeans and a green polo, chuckles at them and gives Castle a look to say ' _I've been where you are, buddy.'_

"Wyatt, look," Castle starts, turning so the toddler can see the animals again. But Wyatt is having none of it, hiding in his shoulder once again. "These animals are pretty big, huh?"

"They big," Wyatt says. "Scary."

"They are kind of scary, yeah."

"Dinos! See the dinos, gran'pa!"

"We're gonna see the dinos soon, bubby."

They make quick work of the Africa room, and bypass all the others like it. Though Wyatt does like looking at the bigger kids on their field trip, and comments on how they are just like his older sister

Instead they head upstairs to the section of the museum where the traveling exhibits are always held.

The wall of sound that hits him as he steps off the escalator, Wyatt stumbling next to him, lets him know this is the place to be for most of the school groups in the museum that day.

Grossology: An adventure into everything gross and icky. Boogers, vomit, gross smells; a paradise for a tween-age boy.

"Oh! Look Gran'pa!"

And apparently his two year-old grandson.

"I see, buddy," Castle nods, letting the toddler drag him across the room to the display he saw.

The two tore through the room. Seeing everything that could be seen; touching everything that was to be touched. Wyatt learned a hard lesson it 'waiting your turn,' and Rick Castle's patience was tested just a bit.

Rick took a secret video of Wyatt playing with the 'fart sounds' machine and dying with laughter, his green eyes alight with joy, and sent it to the boys' parents and to his wife, who was stuck in meetings all day. The kids behind Wyatt in line were also laughing, and egging the toddler on.

"Preston! Brock! Leave him alone!" Their teacher called to the boys, pushing them away from Wyatt and the fart machine. "Sorry," she says to Rick.

"Boys," Rick answers with a shrug and a half smile. He gives his grandson another minute to play before calling him over. "You ready to go find the dinos?"

"Yes!" Wyatt's cheer could be her perfectly clearly over the noise in the room.

"Alright, let's go," Rick smiles and waves to the teachers and chaperones accompanying the school groups in the room as they walk. And one escalator ride and a walk down a hallway later they reach the coveted exhibit.

It's instantly darker once they step into the exhibit. The browns and greens of the room are a drastic difference from the purples and neon of the area they were just in.

The dinosaur exhibit goes through the history of pre-historic creatures. From the giant water bugs and trilobites into early dog and bird like creatures until it finally reaches the age of dinosaurs.

Rick reads everything to Wyatt, telling the story in a way the toddler will understand. And Wyatt hangs on his every word; staying almost completely silent in his arms.

"Dinos!" Wyatt is completely entranced by the room, going from display to display asking over and over again: "What's this?"

They spend the longest time in front of the Triceratops (Wyatt's favorite), and the kind staff member in the room squats down to Wyatt's level and gives the excited and interested little boy all the dinosaur facts he could ever want.

Then, as if his own private paleontology lesson wasn't enough, the staff member, whose name is Jason and he has three sons of his own, brings out 'real' dinosaur bones and footprints for Wyatt, and a few other kids who have gathered, to see and touch.

The final exhibit they visit, inspired by Wyatt's love of the movie _Toy Story_ , is the room all about space. Rocket ships, the planets, more things to be touched; Wyatt grew to love it when his grandfather mentioned it was just like Buzz Lightyear. The two made a lap around the room, but it didn't last very long. Naptime wasn't very far off. Though the display explaining electricity with a sparking globe that made whoever was touching it hair stand on end did make Wyatt giggle.

After a trip to the gift shop, where they acquired an armload of dinosaur paraphernalia, including an excavation kit with a dino hidden inside, and a book on ancient Egypt for Wyatt's sister McKenna, their museum trip had come to an end.

Rick straps his grandson into his car seat, and the toddler is asleep before they leave the parking garage.

* * *

 **A/N: Written for Alex's (Castlefanfics on Tumblr) prompt challenge. Hope you guys enjoyed!**


	15. A Celebration for Mommy

**A/N: A bit late, but it's the thought that counts, right? Happy Mother's Day to all the special momma's and ladies in your life.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Sundays were meant for sleeping late, eating a huge brunch, playing at the park (if the weather was good), and not doing anything remotely involving work.

But this particular Sunday was special.

A bouquet of flowers lay, still wrapped in the paper from the store, on the kitchen table. Two cards, sealed in their envelopes, lay next to it. And five three year-olds sat at the breakfast bar, whispering very loudly.

"Okay. Ready?" Rick Castle addressed his kids as he finished wrapping an elastic around his daughter's hair.

"What are we doin', daddy?" Liam piped up, sitting on his knees on his bar stool.

"We're gonna make mommy breakfast for Mother's Day," he reminds, gathering the tools and ingredients required to complete his task.

"We made a project in school for Mother's Day!" Danielle shouts, looking behind her at the craft her and her siblings had made in pre-school for their mom.

"I know. We're going to give it to her with her breakfast. So I need your help. Should we make mommy pancakes or French toast?"

"Pancakes!"

The decision was almost unanimous save for one little boy who _insisted_ they make his mommy eggs for her special breakfast. But after taking some time away from the group to throw his temper tantrum, he came back ready to help.

Rick used an assembly line, every kid getting to do one job in the preparation of the meal. From grinding up the coffee beans and filling the kettle with water to measuring and pouring the ingredients of the pancake batter, everyone got to do at least one job.

Of course the job involving sharp knives or a hot stove, Rick did that himself.

Eventually a stack of warm, fluffy pancakes sat on a plate ready to be devoured by a deserving mom. Strips of bacon were added to the spread along with a bowl of fruit and a cup of warm syrup. All of this was placed on a tray along with cups of coffee and orange juice.

"Okay, go grab your projects for mommy," Rick directs his kids, helping them off the bar stools and watching as they go and get the projects they had worked so hard on at school and had been itching all week to show them to their mom.

"I will carry the tray for you," Finn offers, holding up her hands, having handed off her present to her sister. The toddler looks up at him so confident in her purple monkey pajamas, her glasses covered in dirt spots.

"Thank you for offering, Nemo. But I think I'll do it. Don't' want it to spill, do we?"

"No," Finn agrees.

"But you know what would be a big help? Can you carry mommy's flowers for me?"

Nemo jumps at the job, taking the flowers off the table and heads for the stairs, but stops at the bottom where her dad tells her.

"Austin hit me!"

He knew it was only a matter of time.

Rick steels his son with a hard glare, his mouth in one line. Austin knows he's in trouble: folding in on himself, not meeting his dad's eyes. "Austin. Look at me." Slowly the boy looks up, feeling ashamed for being naughty. "We don't hit anyone, okay? Not me or mommy or any of your siblings. Okay?"

"Okay," Austin nods quickly.

"Alright. Tell you sister you're sorry."

After Austin apologizes, and the siblings share a hug, Rick picks up the tray and heads for the stairs, the other four quints following him like ducklings.

"Be really quiet," Rick whispers, making his kids giggle. "This is surprise for mommy, right? We gotta be quiet."

And, as quiet and five three year-olds can be, the father and his kids troop up the stairs. At the top, Rick lets the kids pass him and they pile up in front of the closed bedroom door. "Mia, open it," Rick tells his daughter and the next second, they are bursting through the door and shouting "Happy Mother's Day!" and dashing to their mom, waving their projects in the air.

Kate, who despite her best efforts, had been awake since her kids had been awoken by their father. But for their sake she had pretended to be asleep before they ran into her bedroom.

"Wow! What is this?" Kate asks, sitting up, raking her hair out of her face.

"A 'Happy Mother's Day' for you," Liam smiles, handing over his present.

"Thank you, baby," Kate smiles, taking her son's face between her hands and kissing both of his round cheeks.

"And we made breakfast," Rick pipes up, raising the tray for Kate to see before setting in on the dresser. "But you should probably look at what the kids made you first."

"Let me see." She takes the five nearly identical art works from her kids and admires each one in succession.

The kids had painted their hands and stamped them onto paper then that paper was glued together to form a butterfly. The body was decorated with a pile of sprinkles and pipe cleaner antennas were attached. On one wing was a tiny picture of the child's face and on the other was simply written: 'Happy mother's Day.'

It was cute; in a pre-schooler sort of way.

"I love it. Thank you," Kate smiles, hugging each of her babies in turn.

"Flowers too!" Finn cheers, stepping up and handing over the arrangement.

"And flowers? My goodness I'm being spoiled today!"

"Happy mother's day, mommy!"

"Thank you, Nemo girl."

"Ready to eat?" Rick asks, picking up the tray again and bringing it over.

"Yeah. Let's see what we got." She lets her husband set the tray on her lap and steals a few kisses in exchange. The first thing she does is take a sip of the coffee, made just the way she likes it.

"We helped!"

"You did? Thank you." Another baby kiss.

"Alright, let's let mommy eat in peace. We have our food downstairs." And almost as fast as they came, they left and the room was once again quiet.

"Happy mother's Day, Kate," Rick says to his wife leaning over for a kiss.

"Thank you," and she kisses him. Her lips were sticky and sweet from the pancake syrup and he savored every second her could taste them.

"I love you."

"Love you too."

Another kiss.

A crash and a scream come from downstairs and both parents look to the door, eyes wide.

"You should go," Kate tells him, taking another bite.

"I probably should."

Another kiss.

"After this."

And another.


	16. Everything Goes to Hell

**A/N: Backtracking a bit in Austin and Christine's story. Just a moment I felt needed to be told.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Chris! Christine! Wait!" He's chasing her; bare feet pound on the pavement. The freezing wind hits him square in the face, takes his breath away, but he keeps going. She's walking away from him, shoulders hunched in her coat.

Everything was going fine. They were sitting in his dorm room, working on homework and making out a little, like they always did when they met up on the weekends. Then it just went silent. Not the comfortable silence of two people working alongside each other and listening to film score playlists on Spotify (Christine's favorite, he didn't get to pick), but the weird, heavy silence when something is about to happen.

 _I can't do this anymore._

What happened?

What went wrong?

Sure long distance relationships are hard. But they were making it work! They were. As best they could. He would go down to her; she would come up to him. She would cheer him on in his games; he would look for her flying through the air with all the other cheerleaders. They both went to each other's Homecoming weeks and sent each other silly gifts during the stress of finals. It was going well.

What happened?

"Chris, wait!" He finally catches up to her and grabs onto her shoulder. She turns back to face him and her face is wet and tears are falling from her eyes. He doesn't know what to do; just acts on habit and instinct and pulls her to him, wrapping her in a hug.

"No!" she growls, pulling away as fast as the hug started.

"No? Why?" he presses, his brow furrowing.

"I can't do this anymore, Austin! I can't!"

"Is it because of lacrosse? Because I'm always at practice? I'll quit the team. I will! I'll quit the team and we'll fix this. We can fix this," his voice softens and he takes her gloved hands. The soft leather giving his hands a reprieve from the cold.

"No. We can't," she shakes her head again. "This is not fixable." Her voice cracks and tears continue flowing down her face.

"Why?" He whispers, looking down to get her eyes. She looks at him through her eyelashes that are wet with tears, her mascara clumping, but turns away quickly. "You didn't-" he doesn't dare say those words, that would hurt way too much.

"No!" she sighs, laying a palm on his face. "I would _never_ , but who are we kidding? Long distance relationships never make it. They always end in disaster. Maybe we should end things before it all goes to hell." She sniffs and wipes at her eyes, daring to look at him again.

"But we won't!" Austin isn't going to let this end without a fight. Maybe Christine is, but he won't "We'll be the ones who change that! We'll break the curse! We can make this work, Chris," she's looking away from him again and he tries meeting her eyes but she isn't having it. "Can't we?" Now he's starting to doubt it, himself, everything.

"We gave it a good try," her nose and cheeks are bright red and all he wants to do his hold her close and make everything stop. "But it just wasn't meant to be."

And with one more kiss on the cheek, Christine turns and starts down the sidewalk again.

And Austin doesn't stop her.


	17. No Pare Sigue Sigue

**A/N: I was hoping to post this last night, but FFnet was being a big fat jerkface! So you guys are getting it right now. In honor of the Tony awards last night, I wanted to do something theater based, and I came up with this. Also? In regards to the events of this past weekend: there are horrible people who do horrible things in this world, and it has to stop. Like Lin Miranda said in his acceptance speech: love is love is love is love and it cannot be killed or swept aside.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Hey, Mia: letters just got posted," Schulyer whispers to her, pausing by their group on her way to second period. When Miyana meets her look, she holds up the familiar white envelope.

"What did you get?" Mia asks her friend.

Sky sends her a crocodile grin and continues walking. "See you at lunch!" comes her fleeting response.

Miyana growls as her friend walks away. Irritated at Sky for knowing what part in their spring musical she got, and knowing Mia's letter is just sitting there with all the other un-claimed ones.

She jogs across the commons to where her cousin is standing with some of her friends, and, interrupting their conversation, takes Letty's hand and pulls her along behind her.

"Out of my way!" She shouts at a throng of sophomore boys who were standing in the middle of the hallway. The group parts when Mia continues walking, still holding Letty's hand. They watch both girls speed down Junior Hall before making a sharp left turn into the Performing Arts hallway.

"Stop!" Letty grunts, and Miyana finally lets her go.

"Sorry. I just want to get there. Sky already got her letter and wouldn't tell me what she got."

"And you thought kidnapping me from my friends was going to get us here any faster?"

"Kinda," Mia insists, panting, as they continue down the hallway.

They pass the band room with the white board hung on the wall next to the door outside announcing an upcoming Solo and Ensemble festival. And the mural Gregory had beautifully painted three years prior depicting scenes from various plays and musicals as well as their school's bands and choirs in performance; each scene near their respective classrooms, a tease as to what is behind closed doors.

At the very end of the hallway are two black doors that lead out to the front parking lot; an easy in and out for students in this hallway as they come and go from rehearsals. And perpendicular to it, tucked into a corner on the left, is the heavy wooden door leading to the theater classroom.

The two girls can hear the noise from outside, and it's even louder once the door is opened. As they step in the room, groups of kids are all over. Some sitting at the round tables, others tucked into corners, and a larger one is in front of a table placed under the Call board.

Over the table hangs the poster for the musical that was used when it was on Broadway. 'In The Heights' is written in large block letters. It is one of Miyana's favorites, so she was ecstatic when it was announced for their season line up.

In succession, the group finds their name in the black crate, grab their envelope and leave the room. Some stop halfway and open their letter, too anxious to find out the results of their audition, others wait until they were out in the hallway.

Letty hears cheers, knowing they were offered a part, and groans and paper crumpling, meaning they didn't get offered even a spot in the chorus. As it's her first year to audition for the musical, she is petrified to get her letter.

"Ready?" Miyana asks her cousin as their turn in line comes up.

"Uh-huh," Letty nods, her eyes wide.

"Hey, it's gonna be fine," Mia smiles, trying to reassure the freshman.

"I know," she nods again, stepping up to the crate. She finds both of their letters and hands Mia hers before turning tail and leaving the room. Miyana follows and the two make it back out to Junior Hall, where the same group of boys are still standing, before the anticipation grows too strong.

The elder of the two is the first to tear open the envelope. The white piece of printer paper inside is tri-folded and her heart begins to race as she unfolds it; always has, even after four years. Neatly typed on the paper is the generic message they use to announce parts.

 _Welcome to Terrence Paul Winter High School's theater department Spring 2035 musical! There we over a hundred and fifty students to audition this year, and though we would love to offer everyone a part, that is just not feasible. If you did not receive a part, don't be discouraged. Keep working and audition for the next production. . . ._ blah, blah, blah. Finally she gets to the bottom, where her name is written in the theater teacher's messy hand writing. And next to it reads: _We are pleased to offer you the role of: Ensemble._

It stings a bit. Of course she would have loved a lead part. It's her senior year for crying out loud! But as she's had a lead role the previous two years, getting even an ensemble part is amazing. She knows the three teachers in charge of handing out parts could have just not given her anything; but they didn't. And for that she is happy.

Mia looks up at Letty and sees the envelope I her hands, still unopened.

"You haven't opened it yet?" Mia asks.

"I'm too scared," Letty chuckles nervously.

"Do it!" Miyana insists, nervous and excited for her cousin at the same time.

The two had practically grown up together; their three year age difference not mattering during years of dance, theater and singing lessons together. Most of those years spent at Miyana's grandmother's acting school's youth program where they two had participated in nearly every show, recital, and showcase that was offered and available to them.

"Come on! I can't handle the suspense!" Miyana encouraged.

"Okay," Letty breathes, tearing into the envelope and pulling out the paper inside. Miyana reads it over her shoulder and one second the two are calmly reading the message, and the next they are screaming and laughing and hugging each other. Not caring that they are in the middle of the hallway. Not caring who sees or hears.

[][]

The staff of the NYPD's 12th precinct's Homicide division makes no notice of the elevator doors opening on their floor. Or the two girls wearing oxford shirts and tan slacks that arrive on said elevator car.

That is until one of the two raises her voice.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!"

That gets everyone's attention. Detectives stand from desks. Uniformed officers stop in their tracks as they roam the hallways. And two parents make their way closer to the adolescent duo.

"I am pleased to present the first freshman _ever_ to get a lead role in a Terrence Paul Winter High School theater production! Miss Leticia Marie Esposito!"

Cheers and applause erupt in the bull pen, and Letty stands next to her cousin bright red with embarrassment.

"Oh my god! Baby, that's amazing!" Javier marveled, stepping forward and enveloping his eldest daughter in a hug. They shared a murmured conversation with each other during the hug that no one but themselves could hear. And when they pulled back, Letty's eyes were sparkling and her cheeks were wet with tears and her normally stoic father's eyes were glassier than normal.

Their audience had dispersed once the conversation turned more personal, but still managed to send their love and congratulations to the two teens.

"I'm in the ensemble," Miyana tells her mother with a shrug.

"That's great, girl," Kate smiles, hugging her daughter. "So, who are you playing?" Kate asks her niece.

"Nina," Letty nods. "I was so shocked when I read my letter. I never imagined I'd get a big part. I kind of expected to be given a pretty small part. But then I read the letter and I had been given Nina and I just—" she trails off, chuckling. "It's crazy!"

"Yeah it is!" Kate smiles.

"Aren't you guys supposed to be at school still?" Ryan asks, after giving both girls quick hugs.

"We're at lunch, Nino," Letty explains. "Don't worry."

"Have you guys eaten yet?" Kate asks, checking the time.

"Yeah, we did," Miyana replies.

The girls spend the rest of their lunch hour with their parents and their work friends gushing over the cast announcement and showing off their letters of acceptance. When lunch arrives, Letty may or may not have stolen one of her father's friend, much to his dismay.

As they laugh over Javi's feigned shock and anger over the stolen potato, Kate checks the clock and makes the announcement. "Well alright. You two better get back."

And with another round of hugs, and reminders of their first rehearsal after school that day, Letty and Miyana leave the exact same way they came.

[][]

Three months of long afternoons and evenings spent at rehearsals, blistered feet, lost voices, sore muscles from dancing for hours on end, and even a few tears, had come down to this.

Opening night.

The first of eight performances spread out over two weeks. The first chance for people to see what their hard work had amounted too.

Sure some people (middle school and their high school students, as well has a handful of parents and residents of a local nursing home) had seen the teaser they had put together to be shown the day before opening night, but this was their first performance that _really_ mattered.

And according to the stage managers and the team working 'Tickets and Publicity' crew: they were sold out. The house was completely full.

Call time was an hour and a half before the house was opened. Enough time for the actors to arrive, get themselves ready, do warm-ups (both physical and vocal), go through their precautionary 'Fight Call', and get rid of last minute jitters. And for the crew to get everything set and ready for the show; for the sound crew to make sure all the microphones worked; for the lighting crew to check all the lights were working and set for their cue.

Just before the house opened, the cast, the stage managers and the three directors circled up on and around the stage to do their group energy cheers and say a prayer to the theater gods to protect them during their show.

"Okay," Dr. Paradise, the theater teacher and director, started, speaking into a handheld microphone. "Mia is gonna do prayers tonight. So hold hands and bow your heads." He hands over the mic to the senior girl standing next to him and squeezes an arm around her shoulder in a half hug.

"Okay," Miyana chuckles, startled for a second at the sound of her voice coming from the speakers. "Dear God, Allah, Buddha, Muffasa, Phil, Yoda, and The Force: thank you for allowing us this opportunity to be here. Thank you for everyone on this cast and for the past four years of amazing experiences for the seniors that are graduating soon. Thank you for guiding us through this journey and allowing us to grow. Please look after us tonight. Help us to hit all our notes and steps and marks. Help us to enjoy every single second of this experience and to be able to burn it into our minds. Help us to work through any pain we may be suffering from: physical, mental, emotional. Help us to get past that pain and let it not affect us. In your name we pray, amen."

And when everyone chorused her ending, Mia handed the mic back and let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She gets hugs from the kids around her and smiles and thumbs ups from her friends scattered around the circle.

"Alright," Dr. P. continued, "last minute announcements: band kids need to meet outside the band room right when we're done, make sure your paperwork for DVD's and photo albums is turned in to Stephanie by next Wednesday, and that's it. Have lots of fun, guys," he smiles. "The house is open."

"Thank you: House is open," The students reply as they break the circle and return to the dressing rooms to finish getting ready for places call.

As she heads down the hall to the girls' dressing room, Miyana can clearly hear the band kids doing that silly cheer they do before every performance. It makes her chuckle and she smiles and mumble the words along with them; after years of hearing it, she's learned the cheer almost as well as the band kids.

[] []

The show had started. Mia was standing in the dark wings, waiting for her cue to head on stage. For now she watches Nico get further and further into the opening number.

When her time comes, Mia takes a breath and dances onstage, singing the chorus on the song.

 _"In the heights! I flip the lights and start my day! There are fights, and endless debts, and bills to pay! In the heights, I can't survive without café. Cause tonight seems like a million years away! En Washington-"_

Mia stays hidden in the wings to watch Letty sing her solo. Despite it being her first time performing the song outside of rehearsal, Letty is doing it like a pro. She packs it full of emotion and hits the bridge, where the music basically drops out, right at the peak of her energy; she makes the whole room go frozen, hanging on her every word. At the end, she gets a standing ovation, and Mia silently cheers along with them, not wanting to break her cover.

As the show continues, the butterflies she got right before the show started have dissipated into energy that floods through her, combining with everyone else's energy, filling the room to create this amazing aura.

By the 'Club' number, the big dance in the show, Mia has no time, or room, to be nervous; she's having way too much fun. She gets a moment to hug Letty close during the fight, and whispers how proud she is in the freshmen's ear right before the moment is lost and 'Blackout' happens.

[] []

Act Two goes almost the same as the first, but the realization that this journey is coming to an end, and sooner than later it will be over hits her. So Miyana savors every single second; doesn't take anything for granted. Grinds it all deep into her brain, hoping to keep it forever.

The first time Letty and Tahj come out for 'Sunrise' and the cheers and whistles and catcalls they get. When Schulyer, who is playing Vanessa, goes up on a line and covers it by grabbing Nico and kissing him. The teasing tone in her voice as the girls dance around Tahj during 'Carnival' and the next second going out into the audience, waving her flag and getting them all into the party they had created.

She tries to remember everything.

[] []

As the orchestra plays the curtain call on her last _ever_ opening night in high school theater, Miyana breaks out into a giant smile; she can't help it, there is just too many emotions flowing through her. The ensemble gets very loud cheers as they take their bows, and Miyana can make out her parents silhouettes somewhere out there in the sea of black that is the audience. But they go absolutely nuts as the main actors take their bows; each has their own equally wide smiles covering their faces.

The curtains close, and the entire cast starts to cheer and whoop and holler and hug each other.

Miyana makes a beeline for her cousin and envelopes her in a proper hug.

"I am so proud of you, 'Cia!" she cheers. "You did amazing!"

"Really? I was nervous," Leticia answers.

"It didn't show," Mia reassures her. "You look fantastic up there!"

The two girls walk hand-in-hand out of the auditorium and into the lobby of their high school where a sea of parents and friends and actors mill about, filling the space with so much noise, it makes Mia's ears ring.

They find their families next to the stairs, their usual meeting place during school events, and both girls are swept up in hugs from their respective fathers. The embraces continue all around: mom's, siblings (some more willing than others), aunts, uncles, cousins; everyone gets their turn. There is only a moment for the two to smell the flowers they had received before having to go back into the dressing room to change and collect their stuff.

[] []

"-But did you see when Sky kissed Nico?! I mean what was that!?" it's the first thing Miyana and Letty hear as they enter the girls' dressing room. As usual: every corner is filled with someone or something, and everyone's energy is still high, which makes the room buzz.

"I forgot my line!" Schuyler confesses, her face turning red. "I couldn't believe it! I just blanked and then everything went silent and it felt like a million years, but it was probably only like three seconds. So I did the first thing I could think of!"

"Well it was great! A moment we will remember forever," Julia answers.

"Totally," Miyana agrees, folding her shirt and sticking it into her cubby.

"Hey, Letty," Julia, a fellow senior in Miyana class, calls to the freshman. "Do you want to come to V.I. with us?"

"Really?" Letty asks, suddenly surprised that the older kids would want her around.

"Yeah, sure! You're one of us now," Julia shrugs, gather her bag. "So, I'll meet you guys there in like twenty minutes?"

"Sound good to me!" Miyana agrees, and Sky and 'Cia nod as well.

"Great!"

And with that Julia walks out of the dressing room, the heels of her boots clicking on the linoleum floor.

"'Cia and I are going to V.I. with some of the cast, okay?" Miyana asks as the cousins return to their families.

"Um. . . sure. Don't stay out too late, okay?" Kate nods.

"Don't worry, we won't," Mia smiles.

"Do you need money?" The mom asks, reaching for her wallet.

"If you're offering, sure." Kate trades the money for Mia's backpack, and her family leaves with called good-byes.

Letty, on the other hand, had more of a challenge getting her parents to let her go. But after some negotiation from their niece, Miyana aunt and uncle let their eldest daughter out for celebrate her first opening night in high school and her first leading role.

The girls enjoy a fun night out, stuffing themselves with greasy food that tasted _amazing_ after all the work they put out that night. They laughed with friends and took way to many pictures to count.

And even made it home at a reasonable hour.


	18. Brain Freeze

**A/N: Hey guys! Happy 7/11! Did you all get your free Slurpee? Better get it fast, the day is almost over! Oh! And for those of you not in the US, basically on July 11, a gas station here, 7-11, gives out free Slurpees. It's a really fun summer tradition.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Dad!" The call comes as flip-flop clad feet scuff along the tile of the mud room and onto the hardwood floors of the kitchen and living room.

"In here!" Castle replies to the voice from his office where his daily writing session had begun.

"We're going to ride our bikes down to 7-11 and get a Slurpee, okay?" Finn says, having been volunteered from their group to let their father know where they would be.

"Okay," Rick tells her, nodding. He reaches into him pocket and fishes out his wallet. "Get me one," he asks, handing Nemo some money.

"Okay. What flavor?"

"Um, you decide; I don't care," he shrugs.

"Okay," the middle schooler smiles. "Bye!" She calls, turning back outside to her siblings and neighborhood friends.

"Be careful crossing the streets!" Castle calls after her, getting a muffled reply as the garage door closes.

The others are sitting in the grass waiting for her to come back when Finn opens the back gate.

"Ready?" She asks, looking at the group lounging in the summer sun. "Where's Elise?" She asks, looking around for her glasses-clad friend who was here before she went inside.

"Had to go in," Liam answers.

"Well is she coming?"

"Don't know. Her dad looked pretty pissed," he says, standing.

"Oh," Nemo nods, knowing they should not worry about their friend coming along, especially since her incredibly overprotective parents were in a foul mood. She hops onto her bicycle, and after clipping her helmet into place, rolls down their driveway and starts to circle their cul-de-sac. "You guys coming?"

It's a haphazard group traveling down the hill; some walking, others on bikes and scooters, and a trio of boys (Austin, Liam, and their best friend Cade) race ahead on their skateboards. Everyone is talking and laughing, planning final summer parties and sleepovers before the school year starts.

Soon enough they reach the gas station-slash-convenience store, and after locking up their bikes, the group enters the wonderfully air conditioned store.

A dinging bell signifies their arrival, and the woman behind the counter gives them a quick once over, and reminds the boys to leave their backpacks full of skate gear by the door, before going back to her work.

They all wander a bit, perusing the aisles, contemplating buying candy and snacks. But eventually end up at the back wall, where the spinning machines sit on a counter. Six flavors in all, some ever changing with the latest fads, others are constant staples.

"Liam! Move!" Cade's younger sister, Annika, shouts, pushing her brother's friend. The younger girls' shove, causes Liam to bump into the girls' brother, making him miss his cup and spray the frozen drink all over.

"Oh crap!" Cade shouts, pivoting and dropping his cup on the coffee counter behind them, and grabbing a wad of napkins to clean up.

"We can't take you anywhere," Miyana tisks, giggling along with her sisters and friends as they fill up their drinks and head off to claim their desired snacks.

Finn comes to the counter with two cups, her father's filled with a concoction commonly known as a 'suicide'; a mixture of all the flavors available, that is usually done at soda fountains, and rarely tried with Slurpee's because of their sometimes weird flavors. But she couldn't decide what to get, so she chose them all. She pays for her drinks (and a bag of gummy worms, because they are her favorite), and joins the other girls by the front doors.

"Are you guys ready yet?" Danielle calls to the boys, tapping her foot impatiently. The boys, who are joking around, and obviously not paying attention, pay no mind to the girls waiting on them. "Come on, let's go. They'll catch up." Danielle decides, and the other girls follow.

The walk is slow, partly because of the sweltering summer heat, partly because of the up-hill direction they are headed, partly because of the drinks and snacks in their hands. They all share sips and bites, continuing on with their gossip and giggles.

"Oh! Brain freeze!" Miyana hisses, a hand to her temple.

"Quick: put your thumb to the roof of your mouth," Corinne instructs, stopping next to her best friend.

Mia performs the trick, and her headache goes away, and they keep walking.

"Hey!" The call has all the girls turning to look. The boys are racing towards them, carrying their decks as they run up the hill. "You ditched us!" Liam is pouting as he reaches his sisters and their friends.

"Well you guys were taking forever and we were tired of waiting." Danielle replies simply, and keeps walking.

"Nemo? Can I ride on the back of your bike?" Corinne asks her friend, slumping as she trudges up the hill.

"No. It's already hard with just me on here. Sorry," Finn shrugs.

"It's okay," Corinne smiles.

"Want me to push you? Here, hold this," Austin says, putting his drink in the basket attached to the front of the bike, rounds to the back and plants both hands on the back of the seat of his sisters tricycle and starts pushing it up the hill.

"No, Tin you don't have too!" Finn starts to protest, but it's too late, she's already moving.

"Yeah! Go Austin!" Cade cheers his friend on, pulling out his cell phone to record it.

They make it to the crosswalk at the top of the hill and Austin is breathing hard and dripping with sweat.

"Thank you, Austin," Finn says, passing her brother his drink.

"You're welcome," he pants, taking the cup and sucking the drink down as fast as he can. "Ah!" he gasps, grabbing onto his head as the brain freeze tales hold. Austin jams his thumb into the roof of his mouth, but the trick doesn't work on him so he has to ride the pain out, a hand gripping onto his skull.

The light changes and the group starts to cross the street, though Austin is still standing there with a headache.

"Come on, bro!" Cade grunts, pushing his friend across the street to where everyone else is waiting.

"God, that hurt," Austin moans, shaking off the last of the brain freeze.

"Sorry," Annika sympathizes, smiling up at the older boy, who she may or may not have a crush on.

"it's alright," Austin smiles at her.

The girl squeals and scampers away, and Austin can only laugh at her. "Dude, your sister is weird," He says to Cade.

"Don't I know it," Cade agrees.

Eventually they made it back to their street and up the Castle's driveway. Everyone tosses aside their bikes and helmets and flop down on the grass under the shade of their neighbor's tree that hangs over into their yard.

Finn makes her way inside, her dad's cup in her hands.

"Dad!"

"In here!" Castle calls, still in his office.

"Here," Finn hands over the drink and the change.

"It's melted!" Castle gawks, looking at the watery remains of his Slurpee.

"Well, what do you expect when it's a million degrees out!?"

"Alright, get out of here," Castle waves his daughter out of the room, "can't even be trusted to get me a Slurpee without it melting.

"Hey! I tried! But it's a million degrees out there!" Finn tries defending herself, and almost misses the sly grin crossing her dad's face. "You suck," she laughs, turning back to her friends

"Thank you, baby!" Rick calls.

"You're welcome!"

And the door closes behind her.


	19. Gotcha Day

**A/N: Well after the events of the past week, I figured we could all use some happiness in our lives. Love is love. Thre is more than one kind of family.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

They're in the middle of a story break when she gets the e-mail, and _technically_ she's not supposed to be looking at her phone, but she sneaks a peak anyway. And when it turns out to be from someone she had been waiting on bated breath for a response from, Ashley excuses herself.

Out in the hallway, she opens the e-mail and after only reading the first three words, tears fill her eyes.

"Hey!" Yael starts, smiling at her friend and fellow writer. When Ashley looks up from her phone, tears in her eyes, Yael grows concerned; it's not every day Ashley visibly cries. "What's the matter?"

"It's-" as her voice cracks, Ashley stops and tries to compose herself.

"Oh, my god! Is it your dad?" Her father's health issues had been a regular topic of conversation between the girls.

"No, no, my dad's fine. It's not bad," Ashley lays a hand on Yael's arm. "It's wonderful." With a hand over her mouth, she holds up her phone and watches as her friend reads the message displayed on the screen.

Yael's mouth drops and then spreads in a wide grin. "Oh, my god! That's amazing! I'm so happy for you guys!"

"Thanks," Ashley laughs, still crying.

After wiping away her tears, and making herself presentable again, Ashley follows behind Yael, and the two quietly sneak back into the Writer's Room, getting angry scowls from their Executive Producers as punishment. They mouth their apologies as they sit, re-joining the break.

[] []

On her lunch break, Ashley runs across the lot to the sound stage Danielle's current series is shooting in. She's out of breath and wants nothing more than to run to her wife and kiss her senseless, but that _stupid_ red light is on meaning they are shooting and no one is to enter or leave the stage. It's an endless and anxious few minutes, but finally, the light goes off and Ashley throws open the door.

"Hey! Landon! Where's Danielle?" She asks the crew member wearing headphones and a tool belt standing next to the Craft Services table. Landon used to be on the crew of the show Ashley writes for, and was the 'B' Camera operator on her first episode, so the two formed a friendly relationship.

"Um, I think she's still on set," he says. "What's up?"

"I'll tell you later," she promises, kissing his cheek as she passes on her way to find Danielle.

[] []

She's squatting by a camera, tinkering with something, shirt riding up to reveal the small of her back; her blonde hair twisted into a bun secured with two chopsticks. Movement in her peripheral vision and the sound of running feet catch her attention and Danielle stands just in time to have her wife crash into her, grab her face with both hands and kiss her. And when Ashley deepens the kiss further and pushes into her mouth, Danielle grabs her wife's waist and pulls her closer. They are both breathless when the kiss ends and they stay standing there, in the middle of the set, foreheads touching, for another moment.

"Hello," Danielle husks. "What was that for?"

"I have some amazing news," Ashley starts, crying once again. She's smiling and letting out watery laughs.

"Okay," Dani nods, her hands still on Ashley's waist.

"Have you checked your e-mail today?"

"No, I've been on set all day; my phone's off."

"Susanne e-mailed us."

Susanne, their wonderfully amazing adoption agent who had helped them every step of the way, through piles of paperwork and home visits and everything in between, since they started the process nearly three years ago.

"And?" It was an e-mail the couple had been waiting for for weeks. _Weeks_.

"We got him," Ashley's smile widens.

"What!? Really?"

"Yeah," she nods. Now they are both laughing and crying and hugging each other.

"We got him!" Danielle cheers, picking up her wife and spinning them both around.

They had matched with him four months ago. At the time he was a three-day old infant named Javier whose parents had been brutally murdered. He was placed in foster care after it was discovered he had no other living relatives, besides a grandmother who was in assisted living with dementia. Danielle and Ashley had matched with him just days after he had entered the system and then began the long waiting game as to when they would get to take the little boy home. The moms decided to rename the baby, giving him 'Henry' as his first name and making 'Xavier', the English derivative of 'Javier' his middle name. With multiple 'Javier's' on both sides of their family, Danielle and Ashley knew it would be crazy adding another to the mix, but Xavier would be their little nod to the name his birth mother had given him.

Everyone around who had been listening in on the conversation was cheering and clapping for them and the two moms kiss once, twice, three times before their moment is broken when the director comes to tell them they have to get back to work.

Danielle goes back to her camera, and Ashley stays to watch the next side of the scene be filmed before going back across the lot to her office.

[] []

They celebrate over dinner that night: Danielle, Ashley, and Macey; all three of them sitting around the tiny table in the tiny kitchen of their tiny apartment in Manhattan Beach. Smooth jazz music shuffles through over the speakers and the two moms share smiles over bites of enchiladas left over from dinner at Ashley's grandma's house the previous weekend.

"So, Mace, guess what?" Dani starts, getting her daughter's attention.

"What?"

"So remember how Momma and I have been trying to adopt a new baby? And we had the lady from the Adoption place come over and see your room?"

"Yeah, and we played and she asked if I would like a new baby!" Macey pipes up, remembering the home visit they'd had the previous summer.

"That's right! And Momma and I had to sign all those papers. And remember we got sent those pictures of Baby Henry? And I told you that he might be ours, but we had to wait and see?"

"Yeah," The toddler nods, taking another bite of her food.

"Well, we got an e-mail from the adoption lady today, and guess what it said?"

"What?"

"It said that we can take Baby Henry home with us. She said we look like a great family for him to come home to," she smiles. "Would that be okay? If we brought him home."

Macey thinks about it for a moment, a tiny finger going to her chin. "Yeah, I think that would be good," she nods. She had seen the pictures they had been sent of the infant and had fallen in love with him, asking nearly every day if Baby Henry was gonna come to their house to live.

"I'm glad," Danielle chuckles, raising her glass of wine. "To family," she toasts, clinking glasses with her wife and daughter.

"So in a couple weeks," Ashley continues, "Mommy and I are going to get on an airplane and go pick up Baby Henry and you're gonna go stay with Nana and Poppa, okay?"

"And you're gonna bring Baby Henry home to me?"

"Yes, we will," Dani nods. "And you can hug him and kiss him and hold him all you want, okay?"

"Okay. But will he sleep in my room with me?"

"Not right away. For a little while he'll sleep in mine and momma's room. But when he gets bigger, he'll come share your room."

"Will you bring me a present?" The toddler smiles cocking her head, the dimples she inherited from her Momma popping out.

"What? A baby brother isn't enough?" Ashley asks, feigning offense.

"He's good. But I want a present too."

Both moms have to laugh at that. "We'll see."

[] []

After dinner, while Ashley gives Macey a bath and gets her ready for bed, Danielle curls up on the couch. She pulls up her parents' contact information on her cell phone, and, knowing it's late, calls them to tell them the news.

Her mother squeals when she hears and her father cheers just as loud; they are both over the moon to have another grandbaby to love and spoil rotten.

" _Are you sure you don't want us to come out there and help you get settled?"_ Kate asks for the third time.

"No, momma," Danielle insists. "We'll be fine. But if you want to come out here to meet your new grandson, I know him and his older sister and moms would be thrilled to have you."

" _Okay, baby,"_ Kate says, and Dani can tell she's smiling, even through the phone. _"I love you."_

"I love you too. Hold on, Mace wants to say 'hi'." During her conversation with her parents, Macey had finished her bath and had curled up next to her Mommy, wet hair and monkey jammies and all, and had begged to talk to her grandparents.

The phone gets passed over and Macey takes it with pleasure.

"Hi, Grandma!"

" _Hi, baby!"_

"Grandma, guess what?"

" _What?"_

"Baby Henry gets to come to our house! Mommy and Momma are gonna go get him and bring me back a present!"

Danielle hears her mom laugh and she rolls her eyes. _"I heard! Are you so excited to be a big sister?"_

"Uh huh!"

" _Good. So me and your grandpa are gonna come see you and Henry and your momma and mommy really soon, okay? And we'll go on an adventure just you and me."_

"And not Baby Henry," Macey insists.

" _I promise: just you and me. Now, if I remember correctly: it's time for you to go to bed, little one. I love you."_

"I love you too, Grandma."

They blow each other kisses through the phone and Macey hands it back to her mom.

"Alright, Momma, I'll talk to you later. Tell Dad I love him."

" _I will. I love you."_

"I love you too. Bye!" The call ended and the little family continues their night routine for one of the last times as a family of three.

[] []

Two weeks later, in the chill of the too-early morning, Ashley carries her sleeping daughter into her parents' house and lays the little girl on the bed in the room that once belonged to her Aunt Izzy. Ashley tucks the blanket and lamby lovie around her daughter and kisses her cheek before backing out of the dark room. Ashley pulls the door closed, but not all the way, and heads back into the living room where her mom and wife are waiting.

"Thanks for doing this, Mom. I really appreciate it," Ashley says, hugging her mom.

"Ay, Mija, don't worry. We love having Macey here, you know that," Sonia reassures her daughter.

"I know," Ashley sighs. She sits on the couch next to Danielle, throwing her legs into Dani's lap, yawning wide.

Rather than having to drive to the airport and pay for parking, the girls had decided to leave their car at Ashley's parent's house and take an Uber to and from the airport; and their ride was due to arrive any minute.

The three girls sit quietly in the living room; the sounds of their breaths and the ticking grandfather clock in the corner fill the room. Danielle and Ashley fall into a light sleep, waiting for the text message that their ride is here. And ten minutes later, the message comes through.

Ashley gathers their bags while Dani hugs her mom, and meets the two at the open front door. Sonia follows the girls down the driveway where their car is waiting, and makes sure they get their bags stowed away before hugging and kissing her daughter goodbye.

"Bye, baby. I wanna see a picture as soon as you get him, okay?"

"We will," Ashley laughs. "Bye, mom. Love you."

"I love you too." Sonia watches for a few minutes before going back inside to get a few more hours of sleep before her granddaughter wakes her with needs of cartoons and breakfast.

[] []

"Attention passengers! Flight 6036: non-stop to San Antonio is now boarding. Please have boarding passes ready." The security line was no problem, and actually took no time at all, but waiting in the line to board the plane seemed endless. But eventually, they get their tickets scanned, walk down the jetway and find their seats.

And four hours, and a stop for lunch, later, Danielle and Ashley check into their hotel.

The lock on the door clicks and Dani pushes through into the air conditioned room. She pushes her suitcase aside and falls backward, arms stretched out, onto the bed, sighing as she hits the mattress.

"Are you nervous?" Ashley asks, laying down next to her wife, on her side, head in hand.

"Yeah," Dani answers honestly.

"Me too."

"It's the same nerves I felt when we were in the hospital having Macey."

Ashley laughs at that, recalling the memory. "So, scared shitless?

"No, I was just scared. You were the one who was shitless," Danielle laughs, choosing not to look at her wife and the offended look on her face.

"Oh, you are so getting it!" Ashley grabs the pillow above her and smacks Danielle with it. She stands and goes first for her bag and then the bathroom to freshen up before the day's events really began.

[] []

Susanne, looking professional and relaxed in gray slacks and a floral blouse, red hair French braided down her back, meets them in one of the conference rooms of their hotel. They go through and sign final paperwork, and she sits with them while they wait for a person from Child Protective Services to bring Henry.

"Are you guys nervous?" Susanne asks.

"Yeah, a little bit," Ashley says. "But I'm mostly excited. I can't wait to see him."

The minutes tick down, the clock in the room very loud, and Danielle and Ashley are gipping each other's hands.

And suddenly the time had arrived; their new son would be there any minute.

"Oh my god, baby," Dani buries her face in her wife's neck, too anxious to watch.

"Here he is," Ashley says, watching the door open and a woman comes in holding their son. "Baby, baby, look," Ashley coerces Dani into opening her eyes. "Look at him." And now she's crying.

"Oh my god."

And now they're both crying. All of the emotions they had kept at bay all day now coming to the surface and spilling out.

"Would you like to hold him?" the woman from CPS asks. At the new mom's nods, she hands over Henry to his Momma. The four-month-old is so awake and alert, smiling at the new faces as if he really knows they are his new mommies.

He's absolutely beautiful: chubby and round in all the right places, big brown eyes, dimples that come and go (just like his Momma), warm brown skin, and a head full of downy soft brown hair.

"Hi, papas!" Ashley grins. "Look at you! You got so big." She holds him up to the sky and Henry laughs, a chubby hand going into his mouth. Ashley passes Henry over and Dani is suddenly nervous, and the baby responds by whimpering al little bit.

"Oh, it's okay," Dani croons. "I know: a lot of new people, huh? It's been a crazy day for us all." She starts to dance and hum the lullaby she sings at night to Macey, and soon Henry is curling in on himself, his head on her chest, completely relaxed.

Photos are being taken by everyone not holding a baby, and even a few selfies of the new mom and her baby boy, and one of the two moms with their son. Some get sent to families and posted to social media right away; others are saved on memory cards to be posted to professional websites later.

Susanne and the woman from CPS stay for another little while, making sure Henry and his new moms are doing alright. But eventually, they take their leave with hugs and words of congratulations.

And suddenly the room is quiet again, Henry's sleeping breaths filling the room, and there's a feeling of 'what do we do now?' between the new mom's. At least at the hospital when Macey was born there were doctors and nurses and family members coming in and out all day, but now? It was just the three of them.

"Are you ready to go back to the room?" Danielle asks.

"I guess we should huh? I mean we can't hide in here forever."

And so the new family head for the elevators and their room.


	20. Ghost Recon

**A/N: This chapter was created from a prompt on Tumblr: '** Imagine your OC getting a snapchat and the app doesn't recognize that they have a face.' **It was really fun to write. Enjoy!**

* * *

Liam gazes on as his girlfriend laughs next to him, snapping pictures of the silly faces the various filters give her. He commits that sound, the image of her smiling so wide, so open, to memory.

"Come on," Ingrid signs to him, grabbing his wrist.

Liam rolls his eyes. "I don't wanna."

"Please?"

He shakes his head again, running a hand over his face and through his beard.

Ingrid asks again, grabbing his arm and his serious façade fades, and he lets her pull him towards her. She holds her phone out in front of them, pressing on the screen to get it to recognize their faces. After a minute of trying, she lets her arm down.

"That's weird," she remarks, looking at him, brow furrowed. "It was working a second ago."

"Maybe it doesn't like me," Liam says, pointing to her phone.

"No, it's just being weird, let's try again."

"Fine. One more try, but then we are getting food because I'm starving."

"Okay," Ingrid complies.

They try again to get the popular app to recognize their faces, but once again: it doesn't work.

"Ugh!" Ingrid groans in frustration, slamming her phone onto the couch cushion next to her, stalking off to get cleaned up so they can get dinner.

"See? I told you it didn't like me!" Liam calls after her as her bedroom door closes loudly.

Curious, Liam picks up the still unlocked phone and tries the app again. He can see himself in the camera, and the notification Ingrid gets from her friend Becca, but when he taps the screen to get the filters to come up, nothing happens.

He tries again, getting frustrated.

Nothing.

One more try and still nothing.

"This thing is defective!" he shouts.

[] []

Two weeks later, he and Ingrid are at a family dinner at her parent's house. They were all hanging out on the back patio, waiting for dinner to finish cooking, watching Ingrid's younger nephew try and fail to kick a ball around the grass. His elder brother cheers him on, and everyone claps and cheers for the toddler when he finally scores a 'goal' on his brother.

Liam gets up to play with the boys for a bit and even shows off for them by bouncing the ball on different parts of his body, getting the most laughs when the ball bounces off his bum. After a while, the boys tire of the game and run off to play something else, and Liam returns to his chair, scratching his beard and takes a long swig from his beer.

Ingrid is sitting across from him, playing on Snapchat with her niece, Jayden. The girl laughs at the way her face transforms, and he can tell which filter they are using when she stick out her tongue.

"Liam! Come make faces!" the six-year-old coaxes him.

"No, that's okay," he politely refuses.

"Please." She tries again.

"Come on, baby," Ingrid tries as well.

"Fine," Liam agrees, pushing his chair back and rounding the table to them.

"Do the puppy one again!" Jayden cheers, requesting her favorite filter.

"Okay, get close," Ingrid says, drawing Liam closer with a hand around his hips. She sets the filter up and it immediately recognizes the two girls faces, and Jayden starts sticking out her tongue. "Hold on," Ingrid says, trying to move the phone so it recognizes Liam as well.

"This thing hates me," Liam says, realizing that his face still hasn't changed.

"No, it doesn't! My phone is just dumb," Ingrid excuses.

"No, it hates me," Liam starts, standing and laying a hand on Jayden's head. "Sorry, honey. It's not working for me."

"Oh," Jayden sighs. "Next time?"

"Yeah, we'll try again next time," he smiles and returns to his chair right as dinner is finished.

[] []

They are out for drinks with friends, a group of twelve all gathered around two tables pushed together at their favorite bar. An underground place with exposed brick and pipes, an air hockey table and a foosball table, and old arcade game machines for everyone to play on and a stage at one end for Wednesday night karaoke; the drinks and food are good, and the atmosphere is relaxed and fun and classy, just what they like.

Two drinks in and everyone is starting to get really silly. Ingrid and her best friend Becca are battling it out in Pac-Man, and the boys are standing watch, ready to play the winner.

"Liam! Take a snap of this! I'm gonna win!" Grid cheers. Liam reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone, swiping on the screen to unlock it. He opens the app and videos his girlfriend's winning moves. "Boom! Eat it," Grid jeers at her friend, teasing and gloating a bit.

Everyone laughs and Becca's girlfriend, Ellie, goes off to get another round of drinks.

With Ingrid's phone still in his hands, Liam tries seeing if those stupid filters would finally recognize his face. He taps on the screen, and much to his surprise, it recognized his face! The filters show up and Liam has to try not to drop the phone.

"Cody! Come here," he calls over his friend, and their designated driver for the night. "I'm not seeing things right? This this is showing up on my face, right?" He really hasn't had _that_ much to drink tonight; he's not seeing things yet.

Cody, the sober one of their group, laughs at his friend. "No, bro, it's working," he nods. "Why?"

"Ha!" Liam laughs out loud, surprised and excited it finally worked. "Babe! Babe, look at this, it finally worked!" He comes up behind his girlfriend and holds the phone in front of them and sure enough, it recognizes both of their faces. "It works!"

"It works!" Ingrid cheers with him, giggling. "I told you it would."

"But why now? I haven't done anything," Liam asks, his brow furrowing.

"I don't know," Ingrid shrugs, rubbing her boyfriend's freshly shaved face. And it dawns on her like a bomb being dropped in a cartoon, sound effects, and everything. "Babe! It's your beard!"

"What?" What did his facial hair have to do with anything?

"You beard! You had a full beard the last few times we tried it and it didn't work. And when you shaved today, it finally recognized your face! It was your beard!"

He thinks about it for a second, remembering all the other failed attempts at getting the Snapchat filters on his face, and he realized Ingrid is right. "Holy shit," he says. "That's what the problem was? This stupid thing didn't like my beard!" He waves the phone around. "Oh my god!"

Ingrid is doubled over laughing at him and Becca and Cody are asking her for answers to their questions, but every time she tried to answer them she just falls back into fits of laughter.

"What happened?" Ellie asks, a tray of drinks in her hand.

"Liam tried to use Snapchat and he couldn't and-" Ingrid starts, laughing again.

Eventually, amid her laughter, Grid gets the full story out and everyone is laughing too.

Except for Liam, who is left standing there, embarrassed and angry that a stupid phone app wouldn't work because of his freaking facial hair!


	21. Overture

"I gotta go," Miyana said, slipping her shirt over her head.

It was one of her favorites: a thin, gray sweater with cutouts on the shoulders. Matched with dark purple skinny jeans, and well-worn black Chuck Taylors, it was an outfit that made the young actress feel both comfortable and confident; something she needed that day.

Mia was headed to the first day of rehearsals for her first Broadway show: a revival of the popular show 'Mamma Mia.' Nearly a month of auditions and callbacks had led to a phone call from her agent who told her that she had booked a part. To say she was ecstatic would be exactly right; Miyana Castle was over the moon. Performing on Broadway had been her dream since she was seven and had seen a performance of 'Phantom of the Opera' and had vowed to her parents, grandparents, siblings, and friends that she would be up on that stage someday. And 'someday' started today.

"Be good," she says, stooping down to rub Goose between the ears. The bulldog simply stares back at her, oblivious to what she is saying. She kisses him on the forehead before standing and grabbing her keys and backpack and leaving her apartment.

Her walk to the train is spent lost in her thoughts but is broken when she has to swipe her pass more than once to get through the turnstiles. The businessman in line behind her groans in annoyance, and if she hadn't been dealing with first day nerves, Miyana might have moved slower just to annoy the guy even more. But since she was, she mumbled an apology and went on her way.

The train was still packed, even towards the end of the morning rush, but she manages to find a spot near the back. Mia tucks herself into a corner of a bench next to a father and his daughter. The girls' dark, natural curls are held back from her face with two butterfly clips, and the navy blue polo of her school uniform peeks out from under a pink 'Disneyland' sweatshirt. She's telling her dad about an upcoming choir concert, and Miyana can't help but listen in.

The family gets off two stops later, the little girl still chattering away to her dad, and Miyana takes this opportunity to move further onto the seat, busying herself with answering emails and looking through social media, and soon her stop is called.

Walking through the early fall sun, Mia glances up from her cell phone to the street around her, trying to find the address of the rehearsal space she's supposed to go to. She finally finds it, and pulls open the door, setting her sunglasses on top of her head.

Voices are echoing down the stairs, from the large room above, and after a breath, Mia takes the stairs to join her new cast.

[] []

"Hello! Welcome! We love you!"

Despite two decades of being in the presence of crazy, random theater people, the running hug Miyana gets still surprises her.

"Hi." Mia laughs, suddenly quite awkward.

Her apparent cast mate pulls back, and Mia can get a good look at him. The first thing she sees is his piercing blue eyes, and his giant smile right after. He's got curly, medium brown hair and a beard covering his face. He's short too, a few inches smaller than her own 5'8".

He extends a hand, still smiling, and Miyana shakes it. "I'm TJ. I'm playing Bill."

"I'm Miyana. I'm playing Ali."

With introduction made, TJ leads his costar over to a table where three people sit, binders and clipboards full of paper in front of them as well as a cup of coffee. She recognizes them from her audition where they talked briefly.

"Miyana, these are our stage managers: Stephanie, Nicole, and Gregory," he introduces.

"Mia," she corrects, shaking hands.

"Well it's great to see you again, Mia," Stephanie smiles, marking off her name of the sign-in sheet on her clipboard.

"Yeah, you too," Mia says, returning the smile

"We have presents for you," Nicole announces, reaching into the cardboard boxes at her feet to pull out a black baseball cap and a purple t-shirt, both with the 'Mamma Mia' logo on them. She passes them over, snapping the gum in her mouth.

"Thanks," Mia replies, slipping the cap onto her head. "How do I look?" she asks, turning to her new friend.

"Great," TJ replies, pulling his hat out of his back pocket and slides it on, turning it backward. They both laugh and quickly snap a picture to commemorate the day.

The two make a round of the room; Miyana gets introduced to more and more people. Some she recognizes from her audition – like the director, Adam, and the choreographers, Zack and Anne – others not so much. Producers, Set Designers, even members of the cast who were milling about waiting for their first rehearsal to start (including the girl who would be the Swing for her part: Lauren); all the new names and faces were making her head spin a bit. She's looking at a model of the set and sketches of their costumes, when TJ grabs her arm.

"I have one more person I want you to meet," TJ smiles, leading her over to possibly the only person in the room she hasn't met yet. "Mia, this is Eric. . ."

Miyana doesn't hear the rest of the introduction; she already knows who the person is standing in front of her is.

"You – you're Eric Sullivan," she stammers, completely star struck.

"I am," Eric nods, smiling. He's cute, in a Boy Band sort of way: large brown Doe eyes, shaggy brown hair that is constantly threatening to fall into his eyes and a sweet smile that, had he been in a boy band, would make any adolescent girl go weak at the knees just by looking at it.

"Oh my gosh." Mia shakes her head, trying to form a coherent sentence. "I saw you in Midsummers Nights' Dream last summer; you were amazing."

"Thank you. Yeah, that part was pretty fun. First time in a long time I'd done it. I'm glad you liked it. "

Luckily, two familiar faces entered the rehearsal space at just that second, saving Miyana from becoming even more of a babbling mess, laughing and talking over each other, filling the already full room with even more noise.

Allie with her striking red hair, bright blue eyes and freckles covering her cheeks and nose, and Brynn with warm brown skin, dark eyes and black hair worn in its natural curls; both full of joy and enthusiasm and sass.

Miyana excuses herself from the boys and strides up to the duo as they check-in at the front table.

"Hey!" she says.

"Hey!" Allie replies, hugging her quickly before turning away to listen to the Stage Managers and to receive her shirt and hat. "Pretty crazy, huh?" she asks, stepping off to the side and looking around the room.

"Very," Mia agrees.

"Isn't this awesome!?" Brynn cheers, joining the other two, obviously quite excited for their first day.

The three had first met at their auditions when they were put together to read scenes, and almost instantly bonded. Their fast friendship came out in their reading and had quickly impressed the casting directors and producers. And when cast announcements came out Allie, Miyana and Brynn's names were listed to play Sophie, Ali and Lisa respectively.

"Come on." Miyana leads Brynn and Allie over to where TJ and Eric are standing and introduces the girls to their cast mates. Allie and Brynn are just as star struck as Miyana was after getting introduced to the two men in front of them, but not for their theater credits, but because of a web series the two had done a few years back.

"I can't believe you've never seen it! It is totally something you would love," Allie scolds Miyana after the redhead had learned her friend hadn't seen the web series in question.

"Tell you what," Miyana offers, "If we survive rehearsals, I'll watch it."

"I'm holding you to that," Allie accepts, pointing a finger in Mia's direction.

"Alright! Let's get started!" At Adam's order, there was a flurry of noise and movement as the entire cast and crew came together to begin their Table Read.

[] []

Three tables were set up in the middle of the room in a horseshoe pattern. At each spot marked with a nameplate sat an unopened water bottle and a black binder with the script inside, the play's logo embossed on the front. The main cast and crew sat around the horseshoe, with the ensemble, understudies, swings and the rest of the crew sitting at tables behind them.

In turn every person introduced themselves and the character they would be playing, the people making their Broadway debuts (including Miyana) were recognized and applauded by their cast, and the producers and the director gave speeches about how excited they were to be doing this project and to be with this cast; there may or may not have been tears shed.

The producers made it clear that they were not reinventing the wheel. That they were not changing the essence of 'Mamma Mia'; it's what made it such a popular, loved and successful play. They were going to add their flavor and make it their own, change a few things here and there, as most revival companies do with their material, but the original recipe would remain the same.

"Alright guys," Adam began, "this is a read through, just read. But if you know the songs: Sing out! And if you don't, well, we'll sing for you."

And with that, the three-piece band (drums, piano, and guitar) begins the overture and their first rehearsal starts.

When Allie sings the first words of 'I Have a Dream,' chills run up and down Miyana's spine, and goose bumps erupt on her arms and stay through the rest of the read through. There's an energy in the room that Miyana wants to keep forever (or at least remember forever).

Everyone claps and cheers once Kat finishes 'Winner Takes it All' and by the time they hit the Finale and Mega Mix, their serious Table Read has turned into one giant party.


	22. More for Love Than the Game

The crowd was insane. It was a cross-town rivalry decades in the making: The Bruins of UCLA and the Trojans of USC. Danielle stood on the sidelines with the rest of the cheer team in their glittering red, white, and gold uniforms. And it finally dawned on her that this would be one of the last times she would be wearing it. Her Senior season was coming to an end and in a few weeks, she would no longer be standing on the grass at the L.A. Coliseum as a Trojan cheerleader. She got close with her stunt group, and counted off, clapping her hands when they reached '7'. In the next count, they lifted Alyssa into the air and held her steady as she lifted her leg into a Lib.

"Cradling. Ready? One, two," She said, switching her hands and catching her flyer perfectly. They set her on the ground and ended clean, the audience in front of them cheering for them. She smiles and waves her hand, trying to fire up the already excited crowd. It made her feel like she was glowing, like it always did; ever since she put on a cheer uniform at the age of four.

They watched as the opposing team ran out, their band, cheerleaders, and fans going crazy as they entered the stadium and began warm-ups on the clapped politely, all the while thinking 'yeah, yeah, but we're better.'

Coach Nelson gathers them together, telling them to get ready as their team was next.

The announcer came over the loudspeaker and introduced their team. And as they ran out through the tunnel, Dani clapped and danced and sang along to their fight song, just as she had done a million times before. But this time felt better; more energy, more love.

As the game got going, their team scored a touchdown pretty quickly, which grew the energy in the stadium even more. But by halftime, they were down by twelve, and the football coach led his team off the field angry and spewing obscenities, some of which Danielle had never even heard before.

While the band performed Dani took a minute to scan the crowd to look for her, not that she was expecting her to be there. Football wasn't really Ashley's thing, so she didn't go to many games. But since they started dating, Ashley did attend more games just to see her girlfriend on the field performing; doing what she loved. And after graduating, though she was busy with internships and work, Ashley still made an effort to go to as many games as she could

"Dani. Danielle! Come on!" Jenna got her attention and after getting a quick drink from her water bottle, she followed the rest of her team onto the field.

As they struck their opening poses, Dani looked at the crowd again, absorbing their energy and using that to be in the moment and enjoy one of her last halftime performances. It was two minutes and thirty seconds that passed by in a blur, but she came off smiling and breathing heavy and energized, so it must have gone well.

Dani was too absorbed in catching her breath and guzzling down water to notice the person, who technically wasn't allowed down there, waking up to them. She turns at Jenna tapping her shoulder and drops her water bottle, her jaw dropping in disbelief.

"How did you-" but before she can finish her question, Ashley is grabbing her face, pulling her close and kissing her. Hard.

Ashley breaks the seal of Dani's mouth and pushes her tongue inside the warm and wet cavern of her girlfriend's mouth. They kiss a few more times, just as equally passionate, before one of them, though they don't know who, ends it.

Ashley rests her forehead against Dani's, waiting for her heart and breath to slow down before she can speak.

"How did you get down here? I thought you had work?" Danielle asks. Not even bothering to ask how she got onto the field, which is heavily secured to discourage things like this from happening; though knowing her girlfriend, Ashley found a way.

"I did," she confesses. "But I couldn't concentrate, and I knew that if I didn't say what I needed to say to you, I was going to explode."

"What do you mean?" Dani asks, confused.

"I love you." Ashley laughs, kissing her again, taking Dani's hands in hers. "I love you. I've been in love with you since you held my sister's hand when she walked through that 'Walking Dead' thing at Universal the first time. Since I saw how you assimilated yourself into my family with ease the first time you met them." At that, Danielle lets out a watery laugh at the memory. "No one could handle my Aunt Anna the first time they met her, but you did. I love you." Ashley's eyes are full of tears and love and both girls are gripping each other's hands, their fingers laced together.

"I love you, too," Dani smiles. And in the next second, Ashley lets go, steps back and gets down on one knee in front of her girlfriend.

"I love you and I wanted to know, Danielle Castle, if you will marry me." She's crying, eyes upturned to the blonde before her, the dimples in her cheeks on full display.

Danielle feels the pressure in her ears from the crowd cheering (and in the moment she thinks it's for the game still being played, not from the proposal happening on the sidelines). She sobs, every emotion flooding her; tears are streaming down her face. "Yes," she finally says. "Yes."

They are both crying now. And laughing, and hugging and kissing each other. And when Ashley slides the ring she didn't realize she had onto her finger, Danielle cries again. It was beautiful: a simple silver band weaved together with a strand of tiny diamonds.

"Oh my god," Dani gasps when it's on her finger and glittering in the fall sunlight.

"Do you like it?" Ashley asks, nervous of her fiance's reaction.

"I love it," Danielle says, nodding her head.

"Good," Ashley smiles, grabbing Dani's face and kissing her again.

Their moment is broken when a security officer comes over and tells Ashley that she shouldn't be down there and she had to leave.

"Just a second," Ashley tells him, holding up a finger to the burly cop. She whips around and kisses Danielle one last time. And walks away with the cop to the sounds of her fiance hysterically laughing, and the crowd behind them, who had seen the entire thing projected on the big screen, cheering.


	23. We've Got Spirit, Yes We Do!

**A/N: So this chapter was inspired something almost exactly like this that happened to me and my high school. It was a lot of fun! Message me on Twitter on Tumblr if you want the link to the video of my school's 'Loud and Proud.'**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"–Seniors: quote and photo submissions for the yearbook are due next Wednesday to Ms. Burke in room 224. Marching band will have an extra rehearsal tomorrow after school. And also tomorrow during EXCL, everyone is to report to the gym for a special assembly. A film crew from Fox 21 News will be here doing a story about our school. So wear your spirit gear!"

"And those are your morning announcements. Have a great day, Grizzlies!"

The screen faded out as the video announcements ended, and first period officially began. But teachers had a harder time getting their students to get focused that morning. Partly because they didn't have to wear their required uniform the next day, but mostly because a TV crew was coming to their school tomorrow and they would get to be on TV!

Austin Castle was in his Algebra 2 class and had turned around in his desk to talk to his best friend, Jackson.

"Dude! How cool is that?"

"I know! It's pretty tight."

"Liam and Jackson: we're waiting on you," their teacher, Ms. Ritchie, said to them. She was a strict teacher who had high expectations for her students, but was a very kind person always ready with a shoulder to cry on and advice to share or a story from her day's traveling through Europe as a broke college student. Plus she always had hot water and hot chocolate mix available to anyone who wanted it (so long as they cleaned up their mess).

"Sorry," Austin says, turning around and picking up his pencil.

"It's okay. I know you all are very excited, but that does not mean we have to stop working. So, take out your homework from Monday and we'll go over that."

[] []

The school day went on and before long the final bell was ringing and the hallways were filling with kids talking and ready to go home for the day.

Austin shoves his way out of his Honors Biology class and down freshman hall, pushing through multiple groups of kids just standing in the middle of the hallway talking. He once again wondered to himself why freshmen were so freaking dumb, but eventually made it out and passed the library at the beginning of sophomore hall and his locker.

He stops for a second to pinch Christine Renner's side and quickly hurried off as she yelled her disdain in his direction. The two had been flirting nonstop since meeting a few weeks prior at a football game and judging by the scene that had just occurred, they were not going to stop anytime soon.

Austin dials in his locker combination and when the door swings open, he shifts his backpack to one shoulder and replaces his Spanish book and binder with his math and English ones. He grabs his sweatshirt and lunch bag and slams the door shut.

On his way out to the car line, he exchanges hellos and high-fives with friends, and once he gets outside, he calls bye to more friends and even his favorite teacher who is on duty that day. He's the first of the kids to reach their car and when his dad flicks the lock he claims the passenger seat.

"Hey! How'd it go?" Castle asks him as the junior gets settled.

"It went good," Austin nods. "We took that Por and Para test in Spanish today and I think I did well," he smiles.

"Good for you," Castle says, holding out a fist, which his son bumps with his own.

"We're going to be on TV!" Miyana announces, pulling open the sliding back door of the van.

"You are? When?" Castle asks, looking in the rearview mirror at his daughter.

"Tomorrow. Well, the people are coming tomorrow."

"That's pretty cool."

"I know, right? Mia asks, smiling.

"Did they say what there were doing it for? Castle asks.

"No. Something about school spirit, I think."

"Oh. Cool."

Danielle appears next, parting ways with her best friend, Saccone.

"Does Sass want a ride?" Castle asks his daughter as she opens the door.

"No, I already asked her. She's staying after for a French club meeting. I just wrangled her into walking out with me."

"Oh, okay," Castle chuckles, shaking his head.

"Oh! Did you hear? We're going to be on TV!"

"I did hear."

"Yeah, Cheer has to wear our uniforms tomorrow. Probably because we're going to get interviewed," Danielle says. "Remind me to bring leggings and a jacket with me tomorrow cause I have history tomorrow and that room is always freezing," she says, mostly to her sister.

Finn and Liam finish out their group and come from the band room behind them, instruments and stick bags in their hands. The trunk opens and Liam sets his saxophone case in first and follows it with his and his sister's book bags, his sister's walker, and her drum stick bag. The two get in and fasten their seat belts as their dad finally puts the car into drive and follows the circular driveway that makes up the school's pick-up line and onto the main road towards home.

"Dad," Liam began, finally able to get a word in over his sisters' constant chatter. "You don't have to pick up Finn and me tomorrow. We're staying after for an extra rehearsal."

"Okay," Castle says. "Remind me tomorrow."

"It's for the news thing," Finn adds. "They want to record us and do interviews and stuff. Matzke told us in class today."

Once home, the family goes on with their afternoon routine of snacks and homework and fighting over whose turn it was to empty the dishwasher (the chore chart says it's Austin's turn, but he swears he did it last week and that someone else has to do it). Until Danielle gets picked up for All Star cheerleading practice and Miyana and her dad leave in the opposite direction for her acting class in the city at her grandmother's school.

The rest of the night goes as usual. Dinner, showers (with more fighting over who is taking too long and wasting all the hot water), practicing instruments (much to the annoyance of siblings), TV, finishing up homework assignments, and eventually bedtime.

[] []

The next morning, the Castle kids are a little easier to get out of bed and going and come into the kitchen happy and ready for the day; unlike most mornings where their moods are unpredictable at best.

They all are decked out in their school colors and are representing the various activities they are a part of: marching band, theater, and lacrosse. Danielle is wearing her cheer uniform, hair pulled back in a high ponytail with a gold bow wrapped around it; white cheer shoes that have seen better days and white socks complete the look.

"Austin! It is forty degrees out there, there is no way you are going to school wearing shorts," Kate admonishes her son.

"Eh," Austin shrugs. "I'll be good."

"Okay," Kate sighs. It won't be the first time he's worn shorts in cold weather, and it probably won't be the last.

Breakfast is eaten, and last minute things are stuffed into backpacks as the family race for the car to get out the door for school and work.

[] []

With a TV film crew at their school, first period is a challenge to get through, and when the bell rings signaling the end of class and the beginning of the free period known as EXCL, the school hallways are full of conversations and laughter and energy that converges in the gymnasium.

The bleachers at set up as they usually are for games and full school assemblies and each grade level go to their assigned section. The sophomores are seated in the section furthest away from the doors but are the closest to the film crew and all of their camera equipment, and the giant ladder they are currently setting up.

The principal, Mr. Stone, calls everyone to attention and gives a few rules about being appropriate and not doing anything dumb at the risk of punishment, before handing over the microphone to the newscaster presenting the story on their school.

"Hey, y'all! My name is Craig," he starts in a Texan drawl. "So what we're gonna do today is film some stuff for this series we're doing about school spirit called 'Loud and Proud', okay? So I want you guys to get crazy and have fun and show everyone why your school has the most spirit. And then at the end, we're going to squish together in front of this ladder my boy Jimmy is setting up. Everyone say hi to Jimmy. He's the one who's going to make you look amazing." As the whole school calls out their hellos, Jimmy waves awkwardly back at them, not used to being the center of attention. "And then after that, I'm going to meet with specific teams and classes and then I'll be out of your hair, okay? Ready?"

The school cheers, very excited.

Filming starts with the cheer team leading some cheers and chants with the school.

"Grizzly fans in the stands: let me hear you clap your hands!" The students follow the beat, in a well-known cheer. "Now that you have the beat, let me hear you stomp your feet!" The time the sound gets louder as all 1,200 of them stomp in rhythm. "Now that you're in the groove, let me see your body move!" The energy and spirit in the room is massive as the high schoolers let themselves have fun and be silly.

After the cheer team performs, the drumline takes the floor and plays a bit. They end their set with their cadence and use the energy the crowd gives them when they shout "Remix!" at the right time. This leads to a dance party where volunteers show off their best moves amid cheers from their friends and classmates.

Craig gets the school's attention again and directs them into the perfect spot to film the outro for the story. And once the producer checks the film and makes sure it's what they wanted, the students are dismissed to second period, and only those who have been previously notified, and the Freshman PE class who needs the space, are left in the room.

[] []

Three nights later, the Castle family gathers in the living room ready for their story to air on the evening news.

"Shh! It's starting!"

"Look!"

"I can't watch! I'm too nervous."

"Why are you nervous? You might not even be in it."

"Shut up, I can't hear."

" _They are a school of excellence based on the cornerstones of Exploration, Communication, and Commitment. And, oh yeah: they know how to have a great time. Tonight, we get Loud and Proud with the Grizzlies of Terrence Winter High School as they show us what makes their school cool."_

The story starts with a montage of the school and the assembly that had happened a few days prior and ends with Mr. Stone coming through the front doors of the school.

" _Welcome to Terrence Winter High School, home of the Grizzlies, where we are loud and proud."_

Another montage that stops in the Band room.

" _So band is kind of a big deal here. Here to talk about it is Genice. So what makes Band so great?"_

" _Well we have a group of hardworking, smart, funny kids,"_ Matzke, the band director says _. "They all support each other and work hard to be the best."_

"Look! It's Nathan!" Miyana and Finn shout as their friend appears on the screen.

" _You know we all love being in band and I think it shows."_

There are flashes of footage of the marching band rehearsal, and Liam is shown for half a second. The next thing Craig says is drowned out by the Castle family's screams.

"Finn! Why didn't you tell us you were going to be on here?" Kate asks, hugging her daughter close as she is shown on screen.

"All that happened was I was interviewed, I didn't think they would use it," Finn says, her face red with embarrassment and shock.

"Go back! I wanna see what she says," Danielle requests, happy for her sister.

" _This is Finn and the call her The Flying Fish. Why do they do that?"_ Craig asks, holding the microphone up to the tenth grader's face.

" _Because my nickname is Nemo and I can do this,"_ Finn says, smiling before playing the fast xylophone lick she had during their marching band show. The second she stops, the camera cuts to Craig who is staring at her, mouth agape.

Everyone laughs, hugging and giving Finn high fives.

The rest of the story shows an interview with the Boys Basketball team, and more from the assembly and finally ends with the whole school gathered in a group.

 _"So what makes your school cool? The Grizzlies know it and they are saying it Loud and Proud!"_ And the school goes nuts! Jumping and cheering and waving banners reading 'Grizzly Pride!' It's easy for people to see just how much the students enjoy going to school there and their pride for it. The story cuts away to the newscasters saying some witty segue as the move into their next story.

"Okay: that was awesome!" Danielle says, standing from her spot on the couch, pulling down her shirt that had ridden up her back.

"It really was," Austin agrees, following his sister to the dinner table. "You think Liam and Finn can get us out of homework next week? You know 'cause they actually got shown on TV."

"I don't think any of you is getting out of homework," Castle says, bursting his son's bubble, "even if you were on TV."

"Eh, it was worth a try," Austin says, scooping some salad from the bowl in front of him, tuning into the conversation his sisters had started.


	24. They Love to see him Squirm

**A/N: I saw this post going around Tumblr about boys and being weirded out about period stuff. And I figured with four girls in that house, it would be perfect prompt for my Castle family.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"I need help!" Castle calls into the house. He drops his arm full of grocery bags onto the kitchen counters and heads back out to the car for another.

Liam comes into the kitchen a second later and starts to unpack the bags and set their contents onto the counter to be put away. He silently cheers when he finds his dad bought the 'good kind' of lunch meat. Danielle and Miyana are not far behind and join their brother to help. They work together, pausing only when their dad brings in another load, dancing around each other in a well-rehearsed ballet around their kitchen.

Everything is going fine until Liam calls out and tosses the bag he was holding onto the counter, the box inside thunks against the granite.

"What?"

"What's wrong?" His sisters ask, concerned.

Liam's hands are held to the sky, a look of terror and disgust on his face. "Nope. Nope," he simply says.

"What?" Danielle asks, going over to the bag her brother had thrown. "Oh my god! Really, Liam?" She asks, pulling out a new box of tampons out of the bag. "Grow up."

"Oh, good!" Miyana cheers. "I didn't think dad saw them on the list. I needed some."

"Those are disgusting! Put them somewhere out of the way," Liam tells her, completely put off by the box his sister holds.

"Oh come on! There's nothing bad about them. It's a new box, they're clean, relax," Miyana laughs, taking the box. "Are you scared?" She waves it in front of her brother's face and laughs as he jumps back further, holding out his hands to block himself from the evil tampons.

"Stop it, Mia!" Liam calls, and at that second Castle comes in, throwing a curious glance their way.

"Stop what?"

"Dad! They're being mean to me!" Liam whines, like when they were little.

"No, we're not!" Danielle defends.

"Then what are you doing?"

"Making him squirm," Mia grins, waving the box again and laughing as her brother cringes.

"Stop that!" Castle orders, snatching the box out of his daughter's hand.

"Come on, Dad! It's funny!" the girls laugh.

Castle takes stock of the situation and studies the package, and after a minute, smiles.

"It's not funny!" Liam shouts at his dad's reaction. "It's gross."

"Bro," Castle starts, turning to his son. "You live with four girls, you have to know that they need things like this."

"I know. But they're gross! I mean-"

"What, Liam? What do you mean?" Miyana asks, sitting on one of her hips, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well. . . I. . I just mean they are gross and I don't even want to know what goes on to need those."

"They are for our period. You remember that from Sex Ed, right? It's when the lining of a woman's uter-"

But Miyana's voice is drowned out as her brother shouts and dashes from the room. The girls laugh, amazed at how immature their brother can be.

Castle just shakes his head, setting the box of tampons onto the counter. "Will you guys finish putting this stuff away?"

"Yeah."

"We got this," the girls reply.

"Good. And don't terrorize your brother, okay? I know it's funny, but he doesn't like it."

"Okay," Danielle answers, sharing a mischievous look with her sister.

"I'm serious, girls," Castle says.

"Okay!" Danielle insists.

And while the girls finish putting away the groceries, Castle heads upstairs to make sure his emotionally scarred son is alright.


	25. Love and Compromise

**A/N: Another late holiday post. What's new, right? It's the thought that counts, though!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Rick Castle hummed to himself as he danced down the hallway. It was Valentine's day, he had scored them a babysitter at the last minute, and his wife was home earlier than they thought; things were shaping up to be a great night.

As he entered the kitchen, the last two of his kids were still at the table finishing homework, while the other three had migrated to the living room to watch tv.

"How's it coming?" He asked them.

"Almost done," Liam tells him, not looking up from his work.

"Good," Castle smiles. "What about you, Mia girl?"

"I'm almost done too. Just gotta do my reading."

"Better get it done fast, Christie is gonna be here soon." After giving his daughter a half smile and a shrug, he picks up his phone and dials the number for their favorite pizza place.

"Ready to go?" Kate asks, coming downstairs a few minutes later.

"Yeah," he answers, taking in his wife. She had heeded his advice to wear something nice but casual: a red chiffon blouse under her favorite, worn-in leather jacket, crisp, dark jeans and flat black boots that clearly put her a head shorter than him. "You look great," he smiles, kissing her lightly.

She chuckles. "Well with your secret plans, I didn't have much to go with. Are you gonna tell me what we're doing tonight, yet?"

"Nope," he smirks, "that, my dear, will remain a secret."

With a soft groan of annoyance, Kate turns for the couch. The parents watch their kids show for a few minutes (it's honestly as much as they can handle nowadays) until the doorbell rings.

"Hey, come on in," Castle says, holding open the screen door for their babysitter.

"Hey, Christie!" Kate smiles, slipping into her coat. "So pizza is on the way. I already told them they could have a pop tonight and bedtime is at 9:30." She finishes her instructions over her kids cheering about a later bedtime.

"Sounds good," Christie says, setting her coat and purse onto the stairs. She follows Rick and Kate back into the living room and watches as they give each of their kids hugs and kissed goodbye.

"Be good tonight, okay? I want a good report," Kate tells her son as she hugs him.

"I will," the boy replies. "Bye, Momma. Love you!"

"I love you too."

And a minute later they were out the door and pulling down the driveway.

[] []

"So are you gonna tell me where you're taking me?" Kate asks, as Castle follows the GPS' directions and turns left down yet another road. They had been driving for nearly fifteen minutes and her curiosity was growing by the second.

"You'll see," he tells her.

Another left.

Then a right.

She watches out the window as they drive through a neighborhood passing by homes and cars and an elementary school with a forgotten jacket hanging off a fence post.

Finally, Castle turns into the parking lot of a community park. With the mild temperatures they'd been having lately, there are more than a few people there.

"Come on," he tells her, undoing his seatbelt.

She meets him in front of the car and takes his outstretched hand. They walk to the other side of the park, past the playground where a father is helping his son do the monkey bars as his mom watches, past the bathrooms, to the baseball and softball fields and batting cages.

"This was your big plans? Playing baseball on a muddy field?" Kate asks, slightly offended.

"No, before you jump to conclusion, let me finish," he starts, holding his hands up. "I'm proposing a challenge. We get one of those batting cages over there. Whoever hits the most balls gets to pick where we eat dinner."

"Castle, it's Valentine's Day. Even if we could manage to get a reservation somewhere, the wait would be horrendous."

"Don't worry about that. I mean, unless you're scared."

The quirk of his eyebrow makes her set her jaw. She quickly accepts the challenge, striving to wipe the smug look off her husband's face.

After purchasing balls and time in the cage from the gap-toothed, pimple faced teenager manning the counter, and grabbing helmets and bats off the rack, they crunch through the gravel and piles of not quite melted snow to their spot and set their bags and wallets and phones on the metal bench.

"So, you want to go first?" Kate offers.

"No, I insist: you go first."

"Roshambo?" She asks, holding up a closed fist. He nods and does the same.

Fists slap against open palms.

One.

Two.

Three.

Rock crushes scissors; Kate wins.

She puts on her helmet, slips the token into the slot and takes her stance. She remembers everything her dad had taught her, 'keep your elbow up, Katie!', and chokes up on the bat to get a better grip.

The first pitch was not for her, but the second cracks off her bat and, had there not been a net in front of her, would have been an easy Double. The next three pitches are the same. Crack, crack, crack.

Her sixth pitch, a changeup, has her jumping out of the way as it comes close enough she can feel the wind on her cheek.

"Whoa! You alright?" Castle calls to her.

"I'm fine," she replies. She doesn't miss any of her next six pitches, and her final score is ten out of twelve.

Castle's turn comes with a lot of grunting and spinning with the extra force of his swings.

"Keep your feet planted when you swing; you won't turn so much," Kate coaches.

"The 'Peanut Gallery' is not helping," Castle grunts, hitting his next pitch.

In the end, he somehow ties with her and even hits the changeup she had missed.

Enraged that it ended in a tie, and that smug look was still on her husband's face, Kate calls for a best two out of three.

[] []

An hour, and twenty frozen fingers later (it may have been in the mid-60's during the day, but after sunset, the temperature dropped fast), they end up at Kate's favorite Chinese place and only have to wait a little while before the host escorts them to a table.

They order nearly everything on the menu, and when their drinks come, Castle waits for their waitress to walk away for holding up his bottle of beer.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Kate."

"Happy Valentine's Day," she smiles, clinking their glass together. She leans across the table and kisses him, murmuring her love for him against his lips.

The conversation moves from Kate's current case, a real interesting one where the body was found in a ditch behind a soccer field by a team of sixth graders and their mothers were all in a buzz over the unprofessionalism of the city parks department to have something like this happen to their children; Captain Gates was up her ass on this one.

"Damn! Wish I could have been there for that one," Castle sighs, missing going into work with Kate every day like he used too. Not that he can't, he just got out of the habit of it.

"Come to work with me tomorrow," Kate offers. "It will be like old times."

"Yeah, okay." He jumps at that chance. "Have you thought any more about the Captain's Exam?" That conversation has been going on for months. Months. Kate had said that when the kids started school and they had gotten into a good routine, she would think about doing it. That was two years ago. And he doesn't know if she's putting it off because of him or because of their family or because she's scared.

"September," she announces. "I'm doing it in September."

"Wow! Really?"

"Well, I figured if I didn't set a date and commit to it, I never would."

"You are going to ace that test, I can feel it." He smiles.

"Yeah? I'm kind of scared. Can we handle it? If I pass, I mean."

"We can handle it," he nods. "And it's okay to be scared, this is a scary thing. But be excited! This is an amazing opportunity."

She smiles, thinking for a minute. "Enough about me. How's your book coming?" sh asks, folding her hands on the table.

"It's going good," he nods. "Finally got past that chapter, so it should be done in the next month or two."

"Still think it's going to be the last?"

"Yeah, I do."

For the last eighteen months, he could feel the spark of Nikki Heat and her journey fading from his mind. It was the same way he felt before Derrick Storm ended. So he brought it up with his publisher and she told him that if that's what he felt was happening, then they were willing to end the series and move on to the next thing. But Rick Castle was going to make sure Nikki Heat would end on a high note; something big, something good, something his fans would appreciate and love as the ending.

"You're not gonna 'Game of Thrones' all of them are you? Cause after all she's been through, I don't want Nikki Heat to die in some stupid way."

"No, that wasn't my plan. But now that you mention it, I could easily rework the plot to-" he never gets to finish that sentence as Kate's foot collides with is shin.

"Ow!" He cries out right as their food arrives, and Kate has to hide her giggles while the waitress sets their plates in front of them.

The next few minutes is spent dividing up the food and fighting over the cashews in their chicken.

"You have some already, these are mine," Castle whines, smacking Kate's greedy chopsticks away with his own. "You can't have pick of the restaurant and all the cashews, there has to be compromise."

"No, those are mine," Kate says. "Everything on my side of the line is mine, everything on that side is yours," she reminds, pointing to the imaginary line of demarcation she had drawn in the food.

"Fine," he pouts.

"Here." She passes over the desired nuts. "But that's it." She swears she has six kids sometimes, and the bigger one is worse than the smaller five by a long shot.

As they dig in, their conversation goes back to Castle and his book projects, including a secret one he hasn't shared with anyone besides the kids and Kate, and eventually turns to the kids and their daughter's impending medical procedure.

"She's gonna be fine," Castle reassures his wife again.

"I know. Doesn't mean I'm still not worried."

He takes her hand and laces their fingers together, squeezing.

I love you.

He signs the check, and after collecting coats and bags, they head off for home.

[] []

After seeing the babysitter off, locking up the house for the night, and checking on their kids, Kate closes her bedroom door behind her. She takes off her jacket, tossing it over a nearby chair, and grabs Castle's Valentine's present that's been sitting on top of their dresser since they left.

"So you know how you were talking about compromise tonight at dinner?" she asks, following him into the bathroom.

"You mean when you were hogging all the cashews and had I had to fight to get some? Yeah, I remember," he says, wrapping floss around the ends of his fingers.

"You were being childish! And I wasn't hogging all of them, you had basically the same amount as me." she counter. "Anyway, I'm proposing another compromise," she holds out the wrapped box.

Castle tears through the wrapping and tosses off the lid of the jewelry box his present is hidden in. If his reaction is anything to go off of, she won't have to do much to get him to agree.

"What's the compromise," he asks, looking between his present and her.

"You get two rolls and I'll do whatever they say, but you have to get up with the kids in the morning, and make us breakfast."

"Deal!" It's a quick acceptance of the bargain, just like she knew it would be. And the heat in his kiss makes it even better.

A very happy Valentine's Day, indeed.


	26. A Birthday of Gold Part 1

**A/N: Happy Birthday to my Monkeys! Their 'official' birthday was the 17th, but I figured their party could wait until the weekend. So I split this into two parts because it's long and I don't want to put you through that. So enjoy act one and act two will be up soon.**

* * *

Over the years there have been some pretty memorable birthdays in their family.

Who could forget Alexis' 12th birthday scavenger hunt that ended with the group of girls having full run of the makeup counter at Macy's before getting to pick out new fancy dresses and taking a limo to their own private dance party? Or the 'Rear Window' fake murder-surprise party Beckett arranged for him after that tragic skiing accident left him injured and unable to go on their previously planned trip. Or the surprise vacation to Bermuda for Kate's 40th.

Even the quintuplets have had some memorable birthdays: a video game bus for their 9th, beating an escape room when they turned eleven, or the giant thirteenth birthday sleepover that started with a game of Hide and go Seek in the dark, and ended with soda being spilled on their brand new carpet not once, but three times.

So when three of their five kids approach them a month before their birthday, Rick and Kate knew the games had begun. They were turning seventeen, their Golden birthday, so it had to be something special; but not too special as to top the years sandwiching it.

"Yes?" Castle asks, putting down the book he had been reading and taking off his reading glasses, looking up at his kids.

"We've been talking and we decided what we want to do for our birthday," Danielle starts, obviously the spokesperson for the group, raking her hair out of her face. She stands up straighter and continues. "We want to take over The Old Haunt."

The parents look at each other, shocked; the didn't see that one coming.

"What?" Kate asks, leaning forward.

"We want to have it to ourselves and our friends. Drinks, dancing, games, karaoke; something fun where we can just hang out."

"Okay," Castle says, sharing a look with Kate. "Is that it?"

"Well, and dinner on our actual birthday like we always do," Danielle adds.

"Of course," Kate says. It's tradition; why change that?

"But," Liam starts. "We only want you guys there for some of it."

"Okay," Kate nods, willing to negotiate on that matter.

"No. Not a chance," Castle scoffs. "There is no way I'm leaving thirty-plus seventeen-year-olds unsupervised in a bar. I could lose my license!"

"Come on dad! Callum said he would chaperone!" Danielle tries.

"Oh yeah, and Saccone's older brother is real responsible," Castle retorts.

"We fixed that fence!" Miyana interjects from where she had been hiding upstairs.

"Which wouldn't have broke if he had been watching you guys like he said he would!" Castle calls to her.

"Come on, Dad! It wasn't that bad," Miyana argues, appearing on the balcony.

"Okay," Kate says, quelling the impending fight that probably would have ended with any and all prospects of a party canceled. "You dad and I are going to talk about it, okay? Give us a few."

"Okay," the kids reply, leaving their parents alone. They all head back upstairs, probably to congregate in one of their bedrooms to have their own debrief of what happened.

[] []

When the kids disappear, Castle turns a wide eye on his wife. "Absolutely not, Kate. There is no way I'm agreeing to that."

"I get where you're coming from: we can't leave them unsupervised at the Haunt. But what if they were here?"

"Here? You want forty kids running amok here?" He asks, a sarcastic laugh bubbling up.

"Babe, they just want to be seen as grown up. To have a little privacy to celebrate their birthday with friends without adults hovering."

"I know." And he does, his kids are growing up And it hurts, maybe even more than when Alexis was their age.

"So we make them a deal," Kate continues, laying a hand on his thigh. "They can have their party at the Haunt, but after, let's say midnight, they move it here, and we leave. They can have run of the house. We know they are safe and they can enjoy themselves like I think they want to."

"Have the have run of the house? You mean the house with a just as full liquor cabinet?"

"So we'll lock it in your office. They know the rules," Kate shrugs; her kids are good.

"What do you mean 'do what you think they want to'?"

"Come on, Castle! Think about when you were their age, what did you want to do when you mom was away?"

When his eyes widen, she knows they are finally on the same page. "You don't think they are doing that, do you? They're too young!"

"I know Austin and Christine are," Kate nods. "Though I'm not sure about Mia and Shane. And after what happened with Suri, I'm pretty sure Dani won't be doing that anytime soon."

"Oh, yeah," Castle groans, remember how terrible his daughter's first real serious relationship was and horribly it ended. "How did you know they were doing that kind of stuff and I didn't?"

"Oh, you knew, you just refused to accept it; just like with Alexis." Off his sputtering rebuttal, Kate continues. "Don't try and deny it, you know it's true."

And he pouts, like a child, because he knows she's right.

"Okay? Is that a good compromise? Will you say 'yes'?"

"Yes," he nods. "I don't like it, but you're right: it's kind of the best solution."

"I'm sorry: what did you just say?" Kate asks, feigning shock.

"I said you were right," he repeats, and she smiles, and leans towards him.

"Damn right you did," she whispers before kissing him.

[] []

"Good going, Miyana! Dad's gonna say no!" Liam yells at his sister, sitting down hard on his bed.

"Lay off her," Danielle orders, shoving her brother backward as she passes him. "It wasn't her fault, we all knew asking for a private party was a long shot."

"But at least we asked! I mean the worst that could happen is they say 'no'," Finn says.

"Sass is wondering what they said. What should I tell her?" Danielle asks her siblings, looking up from her phone.

"Tell her-"

But Mia doesn't get to finish that sentence as the next second their parents are calling them back downstairs.

"Tell her we'll know in a minute," Miyana finishes as they leave the boys' room.

The acceptance of the compromised plan comes fairly easily from the kids, especially after her parents assure Miyana that they will not be seen for the rest of the night once the kids are home. And the offer from Danielle's best friend's older brother to chaperone was not needed.

And just a quickly a date is set and party planning is in full swing.

[] []

The next four weeks seemed even busier for the already busy family; Between school and activities, most nights they would fall into bed worn out.

But it all fell into place. Everything from the guest list and the food, to the DJ, and even limos to bring them home at the end of the night, was set and ready for the day.

And in the blink of an eye, they had reached the night before the party.

[] []

"Where are you going?" Kate asks her daughter passing by the living room, back on her shoulder, a blanket tucked under her arm.

"Nani's picking my up. I'm sleeping over tonight and then tomorrow morning 'Cia and I are going to get our hair, makeup and nails done," Miyana explains. And a minute later headlights heralding her aunt's arrival light up the front hall, and a second later the girl gets a text message from her cousin. "Okay, I'm leaving. Love you!" Mia calls, walking to the front door.

"Love you too!" Kate replies as the door closes.

And as one leaves, four more arrive.

"Hey! We're back!" Castle calls into the house.

Kate gets up and follows his voice and meet him and the rest of her family in the kitchen. Home for a visit over the long President's Day weekend, Alexis and her family step inside looking tired after a long day's travel, but happy to be there.

"Hey!" She smiles and accepts a hug from the first person she can reach.

"Hi, Grandma!" McKenna says to her. The girl has grown a few inches since they saw her back at Christmas.

"Hi, baby! Oh, you grew!" Kate captures an extra hug from the eleven-year-old before for younger brother squeezes in.

"Hi, Grandma," Wyatt smiles at her, and she can clearly see the two empty spaces where baby teeth used to be.

"Look at you! Missing teeth, I bet the Tooth Fairy gave you good money for those baby teeth, huh?"

"Yeah! She gave me two whole dollars and some gum!" the boy cheers.

"Wow! That's awesome!" Another hug, before Wyatt disappears, looking for is uncles' stash of Nerf guns.

"Well he's gone," Alexis dryly remark.

"We won't see him for the rest of the night, that's for sure," Kate laughs, hugging her step- daughter. "Sorry, Mia's not here. She just _had_ to go over to Letty's house tonight," Kate says, rolling her eyes.

"Don't worry. We actually saw her. She was leaving just as we were pulling in, so we talked for a bit," Alexis says.

"Oh, good," Kate smiles. "So, how are you? Everything okay?"

"Yeah, We're doing as good as can be expected," she nods.

Six months ago, Max's brother died suddenly, and his passing shook his family to the core. And not even a month after that his father suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed on his right side. Alexis and her family made the decision to move down to North Carolina to be closer to Max's family, and to be of as much help as they could.

"Good," Kate smiles, hugging her again. "Hello, baby," she says to the toddler hiding on her mom's shoulder. Chyler is still a bit wary of the new environment and all the people around, but being close to her mom helps a lot. "How are you? We're so excited you're here. Auntie Finn told me she has a surprise for you."

"Oh my goodness," Alexis sighs, trying to coax her daughter into a better mood.

"Yeah," Kate continues. "Wanna go see it?" She holds out her arms to scoop up the girl, but Chyler whines and wriggles closer into her mom's shoulder. "Maybe later."

By now the Quints have heard new voices and have come to welcome their sister and brother-in-law and nieces. And Kate gets a minute alone with Max and offers him a hug and a beer and a listening ear.

When they re-join the group, everyone is spread out over the living room. Alexis accepts the drink her husband offers and makes room on the couch for him to sit next to her.

McKenna is sitting next to her grandfather on the opposite end of the couch having a happy, clandestine conversation. Wyatt is nowhere to be found, but considering Austin and Liam are also missing, Kate can guess where they are. And Chyler is on the floor with her Auntie Finn playing with her surprise: a new tea set.

Danielle is the last member of the family to appear. Hair wet for a shower, and in a navy camisole and grey cotton pajama pants, she exchanges hellos with her family before joining her sister and niece for tea.

The rest of the night is quiet: conversations, laughter, joining the tea party, and even a sneak Nerf attack from the boys that leaves the girls shrieking revenge and the adults laughing and reminding them about running in the house.

They all trickle off to bed happy and excited about what the next day would hold.


	27. The Jacket

**Well with NCA happening last weekend, and ACA happening this weekend, I had to do something fun for the big Cheer events. It's a long one, I'm sorry. But I think you'll like it.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Ask any All-Star cheerleader what the most coveted prize they can win in and you will probably get two answers: the World's ring and the NCA Jacket. Both prizes are given to the best team in every level in both the country and the world, and is the goal and dream of every young cheerleader to receive.

With only two days until they travel to Texas to compete in the National Cheerleaders Association National competition, Nolan Travis is running his Youth Level 5 team through their routine one last time.

"Straight legs! Smile! Face! Good." He calls out critiques to nit-picky things as he sees them. Nolan yells out the counts as they start their pyramid sequence, watching as the young flyers flip over each other before being expertly caught by their bases; one of which is nine-year-old Danielle Castle.

Waiting for their practices to start, the older kids watch the younger ones and start cheering and clapping and counting along, showing support for the team. The audience's screams rise in volume as the team on the floor finishes their dance and hit their final pose.

The girls come off the floor breathing hard, but all with smiles on their face.

"Alright, come sit over here," Nolan directs, corralling his team who have dispersed the second they stepped off the floor. Once everyone is sitting around him and relatively quiet, or as quiet as 23 tween-age girls could be, Nolan starts to speak to them.

"You guys know how proud I am of you, right?" When his team nods in response, the coach smiles and continues. "And whatever happens this weekend, I will still be _so_ proud of you. You guys have worked so hard and I want you to give the best performance you can this weekend, okay?" Again, they nod. "Now, I won't see you until we leave, when?" he asks.

"Friday!" the team chorus, answering the same question that had been asked for the past month.

"At what time?"

"Six-fifteen!"

"Okay, stand up; hands in."

They all stand, forming a circle and sticking one of their hands in the center, as is tradition at the end of every practice and before every performance, waiting for the cue from their coach.

"Okay, 'Light it up' on three! One! Two! Three!"

"Light it up!" the girls cheer, raising their hands in the air.

With practice finally over, they all disappear in a million different directions. Some going over to the older kids for hugs and to tell them of their practice, others head straight for the cubbies in the corner for their bags.

"Cam! Cass! Let's go!" The sister's mother calls to her daughters and Danielle, who they are giving a ride home. The three girls run over, gathering their bags and sweatshirts before following the mom outside.

In the car on the drive home, all three girls are talking over each other and at the exact same time, but somehow can follow each other and the conversation.

"And mommy," Cassadee starts, "you know the double down we have and how I never get it right?" At her mom's hummed reply, the girl continues. "Well, today I got it!"

"Good job, baby girl!" Cass' mom cheers. "Are you girls excited for this weekend?"

"Yes!" All three girls shout.

"And Caroline's full is finally consistent enough that Coach Nolan said she could add it to her pass this weekend if she wanted," Cambree comments. At 12-years-old, she's a veteran and one of the oldest on the team

"Cool. I can't wait to see it this weekend."

The drive continues with near constant chatter from the three girls, and after a request, they end up singing along to their cheer routine music and marking through their entire performance; as if a two-hour practice wasn't enough.

Ten minutes later they pull to a stop in front of Danielle's house.

"Thank you for the ride, Mrs. Wilson!" Danielle smiles, grabbing her bag and getting out of the car.

"You're welcome, sweetie. I'll see you on Friday, okay?"

"Alright. Bye, Cam! Bye, Cassie!"

"Bye, Dani!" the girls call to her. And the next second Danielle slams the door shut and dashes up to her driveway. Mrs. Wilson makes sure the girl gets inside before driving off.

[] []

Thursday goes by, at least in Danielle Castle's mind, as slow as a snail. She's too excited for the weekend that not even the M&M math activity they do in school can hold her attention. More than once she's caught daydreaming, and her teacher has to get her attention back, and Dani is not the type of kid who daydreams (at least not obviously).

After they come back from lunch, Danielle's teacher takes her over in a corner to get to the bottom of her behavior.

"What's up with you today? I've never seen you this unfocused."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Martin. But I'm just really excited! I'm going to Dallas tomorrow to compete with my team at a national cheer competition."

"I know you are. And I know it's really exciting. But I do need you to stay focused, okay? Promise me you'll try better this afternoon?"

"I promise," Danielle nods.

And she does.

That night is a blur of activity: homework, chores, last loads of laundry, and packing for the weekend. The whole family was going to support Danielle and her team, but it still seemed that for a four-day trip they had packed way too much.

"Danielle, bring me your extra cheer shoes, please," Kate asks her daughter.

"Why?" Dani asks, climbing the stairs to her room.

"Because God forbid something happens to yours, at least you'll have some you can wear."

"Okay."

The two girls part at the top of the stairs, each to their respective bedrooms, and a minute later Danielle enters the master bedroom, the white sneakers in her hands.

"Thanks, baby," Kate smiles at her.

"You're bringing this?" Danielle asks, pulling out a folded t-shirt from the suitcase on her mom's bed. It's one of their team shirts for that season: black with silver and blue bolts of lightning across it. The words 'Youth Voltage' are written on the front and 'Lightning can strike twice' is on the back.

"Yeah. Dad and I both are. Gotta show our spirit for you guys, right?"

"Yeah." Danielle smiles. "I'm really excited."

"Me too. I think it will be fun."

[] []

Somehow, through the four inches of snow they got overnight, the twelve teams from Danielle's cheer gym who were competing that weekend made it to the airport and onto their plane with only a short weather delay. Dani sat with her teammates and the girls talked and giggled the entire time despite the early hour of their flight, and only stopped with the trio of older girls sitting behind them yelled at them to be quiet.

Dallas/Fort Worth airport is sunny, warm and loud the second they step off their plane. As they gather their luggage, Castle spots girls and teams from other popular cheer gyms, including World Cup and Cheer Extreme, in town for the weekend. They get loaded onto a bus and are whisked off to their hotel. But the cheerleaders are only there for a short time before they are back on the bus to go to a borrowed gym for an extra practice. Their parents don't see them until team dinner that night.

The restaurant is packed with regular patrons as well as scattered teams of cheerleaders and their families.

"Mom! Dad!" Danielle shouts, rushing over to them, a pair of navy blue spandex shorts in her hands. "Look!" She waves the shorts in front of them, a wide smile on her face. "Simone Porter gave them to me!"

"Who is that?" Castle asks, not at all familiar with the name.

"She's on Cali Black Ops. She's the best! We were practicing with them and I was practicing my Arabian through to full and she was helping me kind of and when we finished practice she came over and gave them to me and told me to keep working hard. It was amazing!"

The awe and delight on her daughter's face makes Kate's heart leap. "That's amazing, baby," she says, hugging the girl quickly. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving!" Dani scoots into the booth next to her brother and across from her dad, and a few minutes later the waitress comes by and takes their order.

After eating, a team meeting about the next two days, and a quick swim in the pool, they all call it a night to get a good night's sleep for an early morning tomorrow.

[] []

"Okay: drop your stuff here and then spread out and start stretching," Coach Nolan tells his sleepy, but excited team as they enter the convention center before warm-ups for their first day of competition. The girls do as they are told, and soon 23 nearly identical black backpacks are piled under a window and the floor is covered in kids going through their stretches. Music plays quietly from a speaker and the girls sing along as they help each other stretch out; hands grip onto ankles, thigs, arms, and backs as one partner pushes the other lower. "Okay, everyone ready?" Nolan asks, getting mostly 'yes's' in reply, but a few beg for another minute, which he grants. "Alright, everyone up," the coach orders and when everyone is standing, he changes the music to one his teams knows very well.

They cheer and squeal at the first three notes and a second later they are singing and doing a self-choreographed dance that has become a traditional part of their warm-ups at competitions. By the end of the song, no one is sleepy anymore, turning that sluggishness into excitement and energy. When the song was over, Nolan led the girls through a few more physical warm-ups and then they waited the last few minutes before their turn in the official warm-up room.

[] []

"These are our seats!" Castle calls over the din of noise in the large room. The crowd was cheering uproariously for the team currently performing; clapping and singing and counting along, giving their energy to the team to use. Castle herds his kids into the row, making sure they get settled before sitting himself. They are surrounded by families from their gym, all wearing similar spirit gear. One final rush of cheering lets him know the team on the floor has finished and are leaving to make room for the next one.

"Next up in the Youth Level 5 division, from Freehold, New Jersey, please welcome World Cup Tinkles." The announcer was drowned out as the crowd went nuts once again as the team of girls took the stage in their glittering gold and white uniforms. The once undefeated team was in a bit of a slump, and though they proved to be a threat to Danielle's team, they were certainly less than others competing that weekend.

Their music started, and Castle watched with rapt attention. Besides the stuff he got via osmosis from Danielle and her friends and teammates, Richard Castle knew very little about All Star Cheerleading, so this was a crash course in the world, and he was excited to learn. So when the crowd groaned and dropped in energy, her turned around to one of the mom's behind him and asks what had happened.

"They dropped two stunts," she tells him. He nods, knowing that is a bad thing.

The rest of the routine goes about as well: dropped stunts, bocked tumbling passes; the only thing really going for them is their energy never falters, not one bit. They finish their routine the same way they started: full of smiles and energy.

"Wow, that was terrible," the mom behind him says. "I remember when they were good; they couldn't lose! What happened?"

"I know. Those poor girls," another mother next to her says, shaking her head.

"Dad? Dad!"

Castle is pulled away from eavesdropping on the conversation when his daughter taps his arm.

"When is Dani gonna be on?" she asks when she has his attention.

"Soon, I think," he tells her. "Yup, there's her team," he says, pointing them out in the program. "There are three more teams and then it's their turn."

[] []

They had warmed up their jumps, stunts, tumbling and were finishing a quick, easy run through when a crew member comes by top tell them they only have a minute left.

"Smile, Sarah! Point your toes! Breathe! One, three, five, seven, and finish! Good. Come here," Coach Nolan says, smiling. "Okay so we only have a minute, so if there is anything you want to warm up real quick or do again, do it now." Some of his kids scatter off to run through stunts or tumbling passes again, but the all eventually end up around him waiting for what comes next. "Alright, come here."

He pulls them over to a quieter corner of the warm-up room and tells them to circle up.

"I want you guys to close your eyes for a second. Take a few deep breaths and think. Think about everything you have to do. Think about your tumbling. Think about your stunts. What do you, as an individual, have to do? What do you have to do as a team?" Nolan looks around the circle, watching as his girls nod and murmur to themselves. "Okay now think about all the energy going on inside of you right now, it's bubbling and crazy, huh? Now think about channeling it into your performance, putting all the bubbling into your face and motions and stunts and using it to point your toes and jump higher. Now think about how much fun you're going to have." He gets more smiles at that comment. "Okay now take one more breath and open your eyes." When everyone is looking at him, he smiles, and the energy in their little group grows; everyone knows what's next. "You ready?"

"Yes!" The entire team replies.

"What time is it?"

"Showtime!"

"What time is it?"

"Showtime!"

"Who runs this house?"

"We run this house!"

"Who runs this house?"

"We run this house?"

They repeat the chant once more before screaming and throwing their hands into the middle of the circle.

"'Light it up' on three! One! Two! Three!"

"Light it up!"

Everyone is hugging and forming their own little groups to do secret handshakes and their own rituals.

"Have fun! I'll see you guys out there!" Nolan tells his team, leaving them with a crew member to wait the last few moments before taking the floor, to get their music set and to stand right in front of the stage.

[] []

"Next up in the Youth Level 5 Division, from Eastchester, New York, please welcome Titan Athletics Youth Voltage!" The crowd cheered wildly, for the girls entering the floor, and everyone could tell where the team's families were as they were cheering the loudest. Their blue, white and silver uniforms, with a lightning bolt patch holding the racerback shoulder straps together, glittered under the lights.

The girls on the floor jump around, getting a feel for the floor, before standing in their opening formation. Those close enough would have been able to hear Cambree count them off and the rest of the team shout "Youth Voltage!" as they hit their first pose.

"Music's on!" Nolan calls to them, and the next second their routine starts.

Up in the stands, Castle and Beckett watch their daughter in amazement. Sure they had seen her perform at multiple competitions and showcases before, but this was bigger than anything they had seen and Danielle was shining. The entire team looked amazing; both together and individually.

Tumbling. Punch front, round off back handspring, full.

Jumps. "Hit! Hit! Pull!"

Pyramid. "One, three, five, seven!"

Dance.

Everything was performed with ease and skill as if it were the back of their hands.

They hit their final pose and rush to hug each other, screaming and cheering. They come off the stage elated. A perfect performance. They hit zero.

At the end of Day One, Youth Voltage was just shy of third place; only 0.6 of a point separated them from the team in third.

[] []

"Danielle! Hold still," Kate scolds her daughter. The girl is standing in front of her, in front of the mirror in the hotel bathroom. Kate is holding the mass of blonde curls in one hand and a brush in the other, and the amount of knots and tangles created in the night still manages to astound her.

"Ow! You're hurting me!" Danielle cries, tears rolling down her cheeks, as she tries to get away from her mom and the brush.

"I know, but if you hold still it won't hurt so bad and I can finish faster," Kate says, putting Dani back into the proper place. With her daughter making faces and crying out in pain the whole time, Kate finishes brushing her hair and pulls it back in a tight high ponytail. She wraps the black and silver bow around it as a finishing touch and then sends Dani off to cool down with cartoons and breakfast.

After getting herself dressed and ready for the day, Kate brings Danielle back into the bathroom to apply her makeup. She lays it on thick, as to not wash her out under the lights, blue eyeshadow and heavy eyeliner, rosy blush, and deep red lipstick.

After a dusting of glitter, Kate starts to put everything away. "You're all done! What do you think?"

"It looks good," Danielle smiles.

"What looks good?" Castle asks, coming into the room just then. He quickly spies his daughter in the mirror and is surprised, as he is every time, but easily hides it. "Wow! Look at you!" Danielle smiles, preening under her dad's gaze. "Come on, we gotta get a move on or we're gonna be late." He herds her out of the bathroom and to her shoes, and a minute later, walks her downstairs to her team.

[] []

Day Two warm-ups go nearly the same as the day before. The only difference is they are performing later in the day, so their warm-ups are also later. And they also have more of an audience in the warm-up room. The girls look good for the most part, only a slight bobble in their stunts. But after running it again, and a fix of hand placement that _still_ is not consistently correct, the issue resolves its self and everything looks great.

They do their prayers and cheers, and then the girls are left backstage until their performance.

[] []

"Go, Dani!" Liam cheers on his sister as she takes the stage with her team. He's sitting high in the stands with his family, and the crowd and the music from the speakers are really loud. But he easily picks up on the energy of the audience and is soon clapping and cheering right along with them; following the beat as his sister's team does their dance and hits the final pose. "Yeah! They did it!" He smiles, slapping five with everyone around him. His sister had done amazing.

[] []

Youth Voltage comes off the stage from their Finals performance happy and brimming with energy. They knew they had done well; they could feel it, see it, hear it. All 23 of them are hugging and giving high-five's to each other and when they watch the playback of their performance, they scream and cheer and praise each other.

"I am so insanely proud of you guys," Nolan says to his team. "You all worked so hard and put all of your heart out there. Great job."

They throw on track pants and sweatshirts over their uniforms and head out into the arena to watch the other teams in their division.

[] []

At awards that night, ten Large Youth Level 5 teams sit on the stage where each of them had performed earlier that day. Each team sits together in blobs or tight circles, all holding hands. The MC gives out special judges awards first; things like best jumps, best dance, more spirited, and the one youth Voltage wins: best sportsmanship. They had done a great job all weekend of cheering on all the other teams and giving them love and encouragement, and the judges took notice.

And finally, after a long, anxious wait, the official placement awards begin.

They announce tenth place. Not them.

Ninth.

Eighth.

Seventh: Sapphires from Colorado GEMS

Sixth.

Fifth.

Fourth: Flip City Allstars Crush

And then there were three, and they were all getting nervous and anxious.

"And in third place, from Kernersville, North Carolina: Cheer Extreme Youth Elite!" After the team in teal and black get their trophy and banner and snap a few pictures, the MC continues, not waiting for them to leave the floor. "Now: only 0,5 of a point separates first and second place," The MC bates, building excitement. "And in second place," and then he takes what feels like the longest paused in the universe, but is only a few seconds. "From Freehold, New Jersey: World Cup Twinkles!"

And they knew; they didn't even need to hear their name be called, though it was; they knew.

And they were all screaming and crying and jumping around. And their cheer section was going wild, as were their coaches.

"Come on," Nolan says, pushing his team into the center of the floor where he was given their giant first place trophy and banner and where a thousand pictures were snapped.

[] []

Backstage was as close to The Muppet Show as anything could get. Everyone was going everywhere, asking all sorts of questions, kids finding parents, parents finding their kids; absolute insanity.

But in the end, everything gets sorted out and all 23 members of Youth Voltage get their NCA championship jackets put on and a thousand more pictures are snapped.

"We won!" Danielle cheer, hugging her dad first and then her mom.

"You did! I'm so proud of you!"  
"Great job, baby!"

She proudly shows off her jacket and poses for yet another round of pictures. And when they are released for the rest of the day, only takes it off to go swimming in the hotel pool. She even sleeps with in on that night.

[] []

They fly home the next day happy and tired and sick. There is a lot less talking and giggling on this flight and a lot more sleeping, sniffles, and coughing. But none of them would trade it for anything.

Later that day they also learn that they earned themselves a full paid bid to The Summit competition in Orlando, Florida (which is the Youth equivalent of Worlds for the Senior level teams). It means they are good enough to compete with the best of the best and to show off their stuff one more time.

And because of that, it's no rest for the weary, and they are all back in the gym Tuesday afternoon ready to practice and make their performance the best it can be.


	28. Her Problem Ever Since

**A/N: Happy Anniversary, Castle fandom! Once again we celebrate the wonderful day this show came into our lives. It's done things for us all. I mean without that show, I wouldn't be here writing silly stories about a fictional family, would I? I just wanted to say how thankful I am for this show and for you guys. I love you nerds.**

 **Okay, enough of that. Enjoy this special chapter.**

* * *

Music played quietly from the speakers in the front, while a movie played in back. All five kids, plus the two dogs at their feet, and the cat whining in its carrier, listened to the movie with rapt for one girl, who looked away in favor of the scenery outside her window.

Except for one girl, who looked away in favor of the scenery outside her window.

They were on their way to spend a week at Kate's dad's cabin, and the city changing into the country and then into woods had always amazed the girl; it was like going into a storybook. She remembers her dad and grandfather telling stories of witches and fairies who lived in the woods around the cabin and the ongoing war between them and the Dark Wizard for control over the kingdom. The stories always seemed real to her, like how could her dad and Papa make all of that it? They knew everything, so their magical stories must be true.

"Momma?" she starts, turning away from the window. "Momma."

"Yes, baby?" Kate asks.

"How did you and Daddy meet?"

Kate chuckles, glancing at her husband in the driver's seat. "You know how, we've told you guys that story before."

"I wanna hear it again." Her voice was so pure and happy, how could Kate say no?

"Okay. Well, it all started when your Uncle Kevin, Tio, Nani and I got called to a crime scene because someone had been killed." With her kids' basic knowledge of her past job, Kate felt comfortable telling them that detail of the story. "When we got there, I noticed the body looked exactly the way someone in Dad's book had been killed. I told your uncles about it, and you know what they did?"

"What," the girl asks.

"They laughed at me! They thought it was so crazy I knew that and could see something was up with this case."

"They were so mean!" the girl agrees, knocking down her beloved uncles.

"I know!" Kate laughs. "Anyway, Nani took the body back to the lab and I went to find your dad and ask him a few questions about the murders because that wasn't the first body we had found that looked like Dad's books."

"Meanwhile," Castle interjects, telling his side of the story, "I was at a party for the launch of my last Derrick Storm book."

"But, if he still exists, why was it your last," Austin asks, more into the conversation in front of him than the movie playing over his head.

"Because, bud, at the time I was so bored and uninspired with him and I chose to end his stories for a while and think of something new to write."

"But he was out of ideas," Kate interrupts, smirking at her husband. "He couldn't think of anything to write."

"You were blocked," their daughter comments, using the phrase she had heard her sister, mother, and grandmother use one to many times.

" I kinda was, yeah," He says, owning up to it. "Anyway, Alexis and I were talking. I was telling her about how everything had become predictable and there was nothing new in my life." He sneaks a peek at Kate before continuing. "Until this utterly gorgeous cop comes up to and says she has to ask me questions about a murder that had happened that night. Well, I was so caught up by her beauty, that everything after that was a blur."

Kate's laugh fills their car. "Wow, Castle, really smooth."

"So what happened?" their daughter asks ."What did you do after Dad saw you for the first time, Momma?"

"I took him back to the police station and sat him down and asked him if he knew anything about the murders."

"And I didn't," Castle continues. "But it caught my interest. I mean how many authors can say they had a copycat? It was awesome!" Off Kate's look, he fixes himself. "I mean not the whole murder thing, but the person copying my work thing."

"But that guy was messed up! Do you not remember that?"

"He had a condition! And he was framed! Do you not remember that?"

"Of course I remember!"

"Then what happened?" their daughter asks, wanting to know the rest of the story.

"Well, then we found another dead body who was killed like another girl in Dad's books. And we knew we had a big problem on our hands and we had to catch the guy before he did it again. So we went out and talked to people and something your dad said hit a chord in my mind, and I guess he was thinking it too because the next thing I know, he's showing up at the next suspect's office even though I told him to go home."

"The guy we were going to talk to was the dad of the second girl mom found. And I knew we were onto to something; I could feel it!" Castle continues, explaining his past actions.

"So who did it?"

"Yeah! Who did it?"

"Be quiet! I can't hear the movie!"

"You be quiet! Mom and Dad are telling us a story!"

"Ow! Don't hit me! Mom! Austin hit me!"

"She deserved it!"

"Doesn't make it any less hurtful and wrong, Tin," Kate says. "Apologize to her. Now."

"Sorry, Finn."

"It's okay."

"So who did it?"

"It was the brother of one of the victims. He was jealous that after their father died his sister was gonna get all his money. So he killed her to get all the money."

"He killed his sister!?" Austin asks, shocked, looking at his sisters. He couldn't believe someone would do that. He wouldn't; not in a million years.

"Yeah. Jealousy makes you do crazy things sometimes," Kate says.

"And that's it? That's how you and Dad met?" Danielle asks, expecting there to be more.

"Yeah, that's the gist of it," Kate answers. "Your dad, even though he was really annoying, helped me and your uncles out a lot on that first case."

"And I've been your problem ever since," Castle says, chuckling. Kate laughs out loud again, her head falling backward. She finds his hand, and links their fingers, still smiling.

Awhile later, they pull up the dirt road and stop right in front of the cabin. And no sooner had Castle put the car in park and unlocked the doors, the kids all jump out and dash off into the surrounding woods to find their forts and sticks they had left behind.

"Stay close! Remember the rules!" Castle calls out to them.

"Come on, let's get this stuff inside," Kate sighs, going to the trunk and their bags. She's turning away with two duffel bags in her hands when Castle stops her with a quick kiss. They pull back, smiling.

"Love you," he says.

"Love you too."


	29. A Tissue for your Issue Part 2

**A/N: This is a follow up to chapter 11** 'A Tissue for your Issue' **. Castle family beach fun. Enjoy!**

* * *

"We're back!" Miyana calls into the house, setting her wallet and sunglasses onto the entry table. Macey and Jaycee charge past her, finally able to play after being in the car for such a long time. Finn and Danielle, with Henry on her hip, finish off their group. Dani uses her empty hand to help Nemo lift her suitcase up the front steps and into the house, and leaves it at the foot of their stairs to be brought up later.

"Auntie Finn! Can we go to the beach now?" The little girls had doubled back, and were now jumping around their aunt, excitedly awaiting permission to return to their sandcastle.

"You let your aunt get settled first," Miyana says, collaring her daughter. "You guys are gonna go to the beach. Don't worry."

"Okay," Jaycee sighs.

"Come on," Danielle says, extending a hand. "Let's go downstairs. I think baby Henry wants to play for a little bit." The toddlers accept their aunt's hand, and the group takes the stairs to the basement where their other cousins are playing.

Mia and Finn head further into the house, where the sounds of a crying baby get increasingly louder as they get closer to the source.

"Perfect timing!" Byron announces, standing. He kisses his wife before handing over the infant. "She just started to get fussy."

"Probably hungry, huh? Mommy has been gone a long time," Mia croons at the baby whimpering and rooting around her mom's chest. "We'll be right back," Mia says, leaving the room to find a quiet place to nurse her daughter.

"Hey!" Byron smiles, hugging his sister-in-law.

"Hi," Finn says, talking over her twin brothers who are currently yelling at the TV.

"Flight go okay?"

"It was good," she nods.

"Good," Byron replies, re-claiming his spot on the couch, taking a sip from his beer.

"Maynard's gonna win by a long shot!" Finn remarks on the Motocross race the boys are watching.

"Not a chance! He's in eighth place!" Austin retorts, and after a second, registers his sister's presence. "Hey!" He jumps up and rounds the couch, pulling his sister into a hug.

"Hey," she giggles. "I see how it is, Liam," Finn says sarcastically. "Not even gonna get up and say 'hi' to me." She sits in the empty armchair.

"Well. .I. . ."Liam starts, glancing between his sister and the end of the race.

"No, no, it's fine," Finn replies, shaking her head, throwing up her hands in surrender. "I get it. A race is more important than your sister who you haven't seen in eight months."

"I never said that! It's just–"

"Hey! Nemo! I thought I heard your voice," Castle calls, coming in from the kitchen.

"Hey, dad." Finn stands and hugs her father.

"Where is everyone?" Castle asks, noticing the lack of grandkids running around and two of his own children.

"Dani took the little kids downstairs to play, and Mia is feeding the baby," Finn rattles off. "And I should ask you the same thing. Where is everyone?"

"Eh, here and there," Castle shrugs, using the casual 'come and go' manner of their beach-front home as an excuse for not knowing where everyone is. "I do know your mom and Ashley went to the store to get some last minute things for tonight."

"Oh," Finn nods. "Are we doing something special tonight?"

"No, just having a cook out."

"Cool."

Everyone's heads turn as the boys whoop at the TV because, just as Finn had predicted, Maynard had won the race after an amazing eighth place come-back.

"How did you know he would win?" Byron asks as the race changes into the post-game interviews.

"I didn't," Finn answers honestly, with a shrug. "I've always done it: picked someone at random and say they're gonna win. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."

"Damn," Byron sighs. "I should bring you to Vegas with me next time we go," he laughs.

"You're on," Finn smiles, slapping five with her brother-in-law. "Hey, would you help me take my bag upstairs? 'Cause it looks like my brothers aren't going to do it." she asks, tipping her head towards Austin and Liam, who are once again engrossed in another motocross race.

"Yeah," Byron answers, taking another swig of his beer as he stands. After grabbing Finn's suitcase, the two take the stairs and turn left down the hallway that is flooded with afternoon sunlight.

[] []

Hours later, her sandals slapping the bottoms of her feet, Miyana heads to retrieve her daughter from a nap, but instead of going directly into her room, Mia crosses the hall to the bedroom her sister had claimed. The door is ajar, but Mia still taps on the wood to declare her entrance as she pushes through.

"Nemo?"

Finn's sleeping form is laid on the bed as if she had only intended on lying down for just a moment before a deeper sleep overtook her.

"Nemo." Miyana touches her sister's arm. "Finn."

Finn snuffles awake, blinking up at her sister, confused, for a moment; a hand reflexively coming to her stomach.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," Mia apologizes.

"You didn't," Finn smiles, sitting up.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just been a long day. I was only gonna close my eyes for a minute," she confesses, raking a hand through her hair, similar to the way their mom did.

"Yeah, I know how that is," Mia agrees.

"And I was gonna take the girls down to the beach and help them with their sandcastle," Finn sighs, disappointed in herself.

"Eh, don't worry about it," her sister waves it off. "You're gonna be here for the next two weeks. There will be plenty of time to build sandcastles."

"I know. But they were so excited to show me, ya know?"

"Honestly? They've probably forgotten about it by now." Then Miyana rethinks her words. "Just don't mention it to them for the rest of today, alright? Otherwise, it's all Jace will be talking about, and I don't want to deal with that," she shakes her head.

"Deal," Nemo agrees. "Come on; I think someone is calling for you."

The two sisters cross the hallway to the purple-walled bedroom they had shared as kids that Miyana and her family had claimed for the summer. With the curtains drawn, the room is dark despite the sunlight everywhere else. And over the white noise machine, a grunting, gurgling baby can be heard.

Miyana shuts off the fan and starts cooing to her daughter. "Did you have a good nap? Huh? Sweet dreams?" As she leans over the crib, Miyana smiles down at the baby and the three-month-old smiles back.

"Can I try?" Finn asks, stopping her sister who had gone to pick up the infant. "I'm going to need the practice."

It takes Miyana a few seconds to register what her sister had said, but when she does, she dives into her sister's arms.

"Oh my god!" Miyana gasps, tears in her eyes. She holds her sister out at arm's length, both women smiling and crying. "How far along are you?"

"I'll be ten weeks on Tuesday."

"Did you hear that, Emi? Auntie Finn is gonna have a baby," Miyana says, picking up her daughter. "You're gonna have a new cousin!"

Finn gives a watery laugh at that, wiping away the tears in her eyes. And when Mia hands over the baby, she takes her and lays her on her chest. "You'll help me practice, right, Emi? I'm new at all this baby stuff, so I'm gonna need your help," Finn whispers to her niece, breathing in her wonderful baby smell.

"She'll be glad to help," Miyana smirks, answering for her daughter.

"Okay, now I'm afraid I even asked," Finn laughs, backing out of the room.

"Be afraid, be very afraid," Mia giggles, adding on.

The trio of girls head down the hallway, and at the top of the stairs, Finn holds out a hand and stops her sister. "Promise me you won't tell anyone yet, okay? I'm going to do it."

"Okay, yeah," Mia agrees, knowing how particular this kind of announcement is.

"Not even Byron," Finn insists, knowing her sister tells her husband everything.

Miyana groans at that, throwing her head back. "Okay," she finally says.

And they continue downstairs to rejoin their family.

[] []

"Alright, come get it!" Castle calls after bringing in the last tray of food off the grill. The entire family is already in the kitchen ready and waiting and hungry, and as soon as the last tray hits the countertop, they start going through the buffet. Voices overlap each other, and silverware clinks in bowls and on trays. Adults fix plates for their kids and make sure they are alright and eating before going back and getting food for themselves.

Ten minutes later, everyone has plates full of food in front of them and is spread out across the two long picnic tables on the back deck where they can watch the sunset over the ocean; kids mixed in with adults, save for a grouping of three little girls: Macey, Jaycee, and Hayley, Austin and Christine's daughter, who at two years old wanted to be just like her older cousins.

Babies babbled, adding to the noise of lots of different conversations happening at the same time. It was an organized chaos unique to the Castle family.

"Damn, Liam," Christine says, taking the cell phone from her brother-in-law, "she is gorgeous."

"You did good," Finn remarks, smacking her brother on his shoulder, about the picture of the girl Liam was currently seeing. And apparently, it was serious.

Forever a bachelor, and the last of the Castle kids to enter into a serious relationship of any kind, it became sort of a family joke as to when Liam was finally going to meet 'The One.' So to have him come home for the summer with pictures of his serious girlfriend on his cell phone was something to be talked about.

"Is this the one you were telling me about?" Danielle asks while pulling a piece of mashed watermelon out of her son's hair.

"Uh huh," Liam nods.

"You knew about her!?" Mia shouts, offended her sister had known about their brother's current girlfriend before she did.

"Well, it wasn't like I went looking!" Danielle rebuts. "Liam came to me for advice about her, and I gave it to him. And he showed me her picture in return. I didn't ask."

"Advice huh?" Austin start, teasing his twin. "Bit confused on how to handle a lady of that caliber, huh?"

"Shut up," Liam scolds. "Um, no. Um, she's deaf, and I want to learn sign language, and since Dani has that friend who is deaf, I figured she could help me out."

"Aw! Liam that is so sweet," Christine sighs, and everyone has to agree.

[][]

Later that night, after roasting marshmallows over the fire and listening to Grandpa tell stories, all the grandkids, under ten years old, had been put to bed and were either fast asleep, or close to it.

"I told the girls to go to sleep. It's too late for them to be up giggling like that," Austin says, reclaiming his spot next to his wife on one of the bench swings around the fire pit. He sets part of the blanket Christine is wrapped up in over his legs and pulls his wife close, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Oh, Austin, you are in for it!" Miyana laughs.

" Me? You're the one who said they could sleep in the same room. What were your words again? 'Oh don't worry! They'll be okay. I'll watch them.'," his voice takes on a bad impression of his sister' tone. "I believe it is _you_ who is in for it," Austin replies, smugly.

"Not uh," Miyana disagrees. "They're good for me. They listen to me. If I tell them to go to bed, they will. They don't listen to you because you are soft. They know your threats are empty. Those three girls are wrapped around your little finger."

"Dad knows how that is," Danielle continues. "We always went to him for permission to stay up later or have friends over on the weekends. And more times than not: we got what we wanted. It was Mom who came into our room at one in the morning to yell at us to go to bed for the tenth time."

As the kids laugh, both at the humor of the image of that scene and at how true it was, Rick and Kate share a look and realize that their daughter is right. Their laughter echoes in the nighttime and for a moment the sounds of the waves crashing on the beach that can consistently be heard are drowned out.

"So, um," Finn starts as the laughter dies down. "I have some news." She sits up in the camp chair she had claimed and huffs out a laugh as everyone turns their eyes on her. "I'm pregnant."`

Everyone was cheering and laughing and congratulating her, and Finn was smiling so wide her cheeks started to hurt.

"Congratulations, baby," Kate says, coming over and hugging her daughter.

"Thanks, Momma," Nemo smiles. "We were gonna wait until Deacon got here to tell you guys, But I couldn't wait," She smiles.

"You know your siblings are going to tease him mercilessly, right?" Kate warns, now that the secret is out."

"Oh, I know," Finn nods, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Are you gonna warn him?"

"Where's the fun in that?"

And the girls' laughter fills the night sky like the stars above them.


	30. Production Babies

"Voulez-vous! Take it now or leave it. Now is all we get, nothing promised, no regrets _."_

As they start the next line, Mia lets Taylor spin her, and as she comes out of the turn, a wave of nausea overtakes her. It was a heat pooling deep in her stomach and spreading to every centimeter of her body. She had the shivers and the sweats all at once and could feel her stomach churning, rejecting every single thing she had eaten.

They were well into one of the most technically complicated dances in the show, it was the number that took Miyana the longest to actually nail down, and stopping now was _not_ an option.

She breathes in through her nose and out through her mouth, thinking to herself the entire time: _just breathe, just breathe. Don't throw up; whatever you do: don't throw up._

When she finally has an opportunity to sneak out, Miyana races off stage, through the Stage Left wing, pushing past the cast and crew standing there asking if she was okay, up the stairs and into the bathroom she and her roommate share with the two girls next door. Mia dives onto the floor in front of the toilet and is violently sick.

She hadn't noticed someone had followed her until she feels her hair being pulled back as she continues to throw up. When she can lift her head without getting sick, a wet paper towel is put in front of her.

"Here: wipe your face," the Assistant Stage Manager, Nicole, murmurs with a half-smile.

"Thanks," Miyana replies, doing as she's told, turning to face her friend and superior. She tosses the used towel into the trash can and rests her chin on her bent knees. She's sweaty and shaky and her head hurts, but at least the nausea is gone.

Over the speakers set into the ceiling, Mia hears Act One end and she groans, embarrassed. The hallways and stairwells start to fill with noise as her castmates return to their dressing rooms for intermission.

"Hey, are you okay?" Allie asks, standing in the doorway.

"Yeah, I'm good," Mia nods.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, but whatever you do: don't eat the Pastrami from the Deli down the street, okay?"

"Oh," Allie grimaces, knowing her friends meaning without her having to say anything. "Okay," Allie nods. When she leaves, Miyana groans and drops her head to her knees.

And the next second, her boyfriend rushes in and kneels down next to her, obviously concerned.

"Hey! Are you okay? I saw you run off," he asks, rubbing her cheek and neck. Mia leans into his touch, feeling better with it.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess something I ate didn't agree with me," she shrugs. Mia knows Byron doesn't believe her, sees right through the façade she's putting on for everyone, but she smiles, hoping he'll drop it for now.

"Are you sure?" He presses.

"Yes: she's sure. Give the girl some space to clean herself up," Nicole directs, pushing Byron out of the room and shutting the door in his face.

Miyana laughs so hard her sides start to hurt. "Colie! That was mean!" she laughs.

"But it worked, didn't it?"

"Yeah," she chuckles, tucking a fallen section of hair behind her ear.

"Are you okay? Do you think you can do Act Two?"

"Oh, yeah!" Miyana says, standing. "I'll be fine."

"Okay," Nicole nods, still skeptical. "If you need anything, come find me, yeah?"

"I will. And thanks."

"No problem."

Miyana crosses the hall and readies herself for the second half of the show.

[] []

Act Two goes off nearly perfectly, only mistakes the cast who were with the show every second would catch, and they receive a standing ovation and thunderous applause during their curtain call.

After changing out of their costumes and back into street clothes, signing autographs and taking pictures with fans at the stage door, and ordering food to be delivered, Miyana and Byron ride the train together back to their apartment.

The second Mia turns the key in the lock and pushes open the door, her Bull dog barks and barrels into their shins.

"Hey, Goose!" Mia cheers, squatting down. She rubs the animal behind his ears and down his neck as he bounces into her torso, begging for love and attention after a long day away from his mom. "Okay, I know," she croons as Goose starts licking her face. Mia lets him carry on for another few moments before pushing him away and finally getting a chance to set her bag down and relax.

Their food is due any minute and Miyana and Byron pass each other in the bedroom doorway, the dog at her feet. He stops her with a hand on her shoulder and kisses her quickly.

"I'm gonna change. Will you listen for the door?" she asks him.

"Sure thing. You want some wine?"

"Um, no," she answers, shaking her head. "Just some water."

"Alright," he nods, switching places with his girlfriend and heading down the short hallway as their bedroom door clicks closed behind him.

As soon as the door closes, Mia strips off her shirt and heads for the bathroom. She turns on the sink and pulls her hair back while waiting for the water to warm up. She washes her face, and with water dripping off her face, looks up into the mirror. Her eyes catch the reflection of the shelf behind her, and nerves spike in her stomach. Mia shuts off the water and reaches for her towel, holding it under her chin after drying her face off. Her mind wages a war with itself, and after a minute she groans and pegs her towel at the ground to dispel some of the nervous energy she has.

Goose, who up until that moment had been dozing on his belly in the doorway, looks up at the sudden noise and whines.

"Sorry, buddy," Mia soothes. "Come on." She steps over him, knowing he will follow.

Miyana finishes changing into pajamas before returning to the bathroom. She bends down and picks up her towel, putting it back on the hook it had come from. Her eyes catch the shelf again, and it spikes another wave of nerves.

"Okay," she whispers. "On 'three'," she counts to three and reaches for the cardboard box hidden behind the jar of cotton swabs. It had been there since that morning when she was too chicken to look at the results of the home pregnancy test. The plastic stick rattles inside and that just makes her even more nervous and anxious.

"Hey! Are you coming? Better hurry or I'm gonna eat all the fried rice myself! _"_ Byron's muffled voice reaches her and she huffs a laugh.

"I'll be out in a second! And don't you dare!" she calls back.

"I make no promises!" Byron answers just as she appears in their kitchen.

[] []

He's sitting at their kitchen island, boxes of takeout Japanese food spread around him, a glass of wine at his spot and a giant cup of water at hers. The TV is playing quietly in the living room, and the oil diffuser is running, spitting out the comforting scent of eucalyptus and spearmint. Mia breaths deep and it seems to calm the raging nerves in her stomach a bit.

She honestly hasn't been this nervous since opening night, and even then it wasn't this bad.

"Hey!" Byron smiles at his girlfriend, quickly glancing over at her: the baggy sweatpants, ratty, old college sweatshirt, and long hair pulled back into a messy bun; Miyana's usual look after a show.

When she doesn't speak or sit down across from him, he looks up again.

She's looking at the wall behind him, hands behind her back, teeth turning her bottom lip white they are biting down so hard.

"What's the matter?" he sets down his fork and turns towards her. Again she doesn't speak. "Mia? What's wrong?" He stands and steps towards her right as her dam breaks and she sobs. "Hey. Hey, it's okay." He pulls her against him, tucking her in tight, and rubs her arm and shoulder, waiting her out. When she calms down, Byron lifts her face to meet his. "What's wrong?" He's so quiet, so full of love for this usually confident girl, who at that moment was sad and scared and small.

"Um," she says, hiccupping. She stammers for a moment, trying to conjure the words, but when they don't come, she simply holds out the box.

Byron gasps, his eyes wide. "Oh my god."

Mia hiccups again. "I know."

"Did you take it?"

She murmurs an affirmative. "This morning. I know it's a surprise and sudden. I mean we've only been together a few months and this is a huge life-changing event and–" she's stammering, tripping over her words, trying to diffuse any arguments that may arise.

"Wait. This morning? You've been sitting on this all day and you didn't tell me?"

"It's not like I purposely avoided it! I was scared and then we were running late and we had a matinee and those school kids came and I honestly forgot about it until I got sick tonight."

"And? Is it positive?"

"I don't know," Miyana replies, honestly, looking at her toes. "I haven't looked at it yet."

"Do you want to do it together?"

"You're not upset?"

"Mia! I would never be upset at something like this. Sure it's a surprise and sudden and all that, but it's still amazing," he smiles at her. "Together?"

"Yeah," she says, tucking herself into his side again. "On three."

Together they count.

One.

Two .

Three.

Byron pulls the test out and the both gasp when they see the results.

It's positive.

Miyana immediately starts to sob, and Byron is not far behind.

Through his tears, Byron finds his girlfriend's face. He takes it between his hands and kisses her, tasting salt from her tears. He lets that kiss do all the talking. Love and happiness and strength; all the words they both can't come up with right then.

Byron grabs Miyana's hand and leads her into their bedroom, closing the door behind him.

He kisses her again and then lets his lips wander to her nose and eyes and along her jaw line. When he moves to her neck, Mia moans and tilts her head back to grant him better access, her hands burrowing into his hair.

Byron walks them back until Mia's knees hit the mattress of their bed, then he slowly lays her down, not breaking eye contact with her. He kisses her again, letting his hand slip under her pajama shirt. She moans again and wraps a leg around his waist, holding him there.

He lifts up her shirt and kisses her still flat stomach, and whispers secrets to the tiny speck that would soon be their child.

Miyana watches him and starts to cry silently. He's so full of love and happiness in that moment, she wants to commit it to memory. After a while, she uses a hand to lift his face to meet hers.

"I love you," she whispers to him.

"I love you," he answers, scooting up to kiss her. Their kiss breaks just long enough for him to pull off Mia's shirt the rest of the way before he goes back to show just how much he loves her and their baby.

[] []

Seven months later, Jaycee Rene Mecham was the first baby from their production to be born. The brown haired, brown eyed little girl was loved beyond measure by her entire family, biological and not.

* * *

 **A/N: Babies, babies, everywhere. That's what happens is such a large family. Hope you enjoyed!**


	31. The Merriment of Commencement

**A/N: May 18, 2017. My little brother graduated high school. This chapter is dedicated to him. I love you to Las Vegas and back, Bubby and I am SO proud of how hard you worked and of how smart you are. Never forget that.**

 **I am still at a loss for words to describe the feeling I got when I saw him walk across that stage in his cap and gown; it's crazy.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

The toddler in his lap jumps as the arena fills with music. Rick chuckles and hugs her close.

"It's okay, baby," he whispers into her hair.

They fill an entire row, their family: him, Kate, his mom, her dad, her Aunt Theresa, Max, Alexis, and their kids including the two year old currently jamming her butt bone into his thigh, Lanie, Esposito and their kids, and Ryan, Jenny and their son Kieran (Grace wanted to come, but she was still taking college finals)

The administration and dignitaries present at the ceremony finish filling in and take their seats on the stage. Mr. Stone, the principal, goes to the podium, adjusts the microphone and tells them to stand up to welcome the graduating class.

A second later, the band hits the first notes of the graduation march and the senior class begins walking in through the two tunnels on either side of the band set up in the back of the arena. The crowd cheers for the students, dressed in green and gold caps and gowns (girls in gold, boys in green), as they walk down the aisle and find their seats.

"Look! There they are!" McKenna shouts, pointing out her aunts and uncles. The quints are separated on both sides of the aisle, three and three (because there happens to be another girl in their class with the last name 'Castle'), and all five of them have cords around their necks for the various clubs and activities they were involved in.

And the audience keeps cheering even after the graduates are told to sit down. The choir, Miyana, Finn, and Liam included, sings the national anthem, and a handful of people give speeches.

Then, Miyana's best friend, Corrine, gets up to give her Salutatorian speech. She reads a letter her fourth-grade teacher made her class write to themselves to read when they graduated high school. She explains that her nine-year-old idea of growing up was not exactly what she really is going through, but the one thing that was the same was the hope and happiness she had at both time periods. Corinne finishes by telling her class to never stop dreaming, like their nine-year-old self's, and to look for the "bubbles and pink, sparkly ponies" in every situation.

Once Corinne finishes, and the cheering dies down, the choir once again gets up and sings to their class. It's a song from the musical 'Matilda' called "When I Grow Up", and it brings more than a few tears to the eyes on everyone in the room.

The superintendent of the school district gets up and gives a speech next, imparting some last advice to the senior class like "Always tell your girlfriend she looks good in that shirt" and "if you want a car, ask for a pony first."

During his speech, the band kids went back to get ready to play one last song together, Finn and Liam among them. The Castle family in the audience records the song on video, finding their two kids: Liam with his glittering saxophone around his neck, and Finn behind her xylophone, their faces lit up, enjoying every second. The last note hits, and Mrs. Matzke holds them there an extra few seconds, not wanting it to end. This performance would be her last as she was retiring, and it was hard on her as well as the students and parents who had grown to love her very much. Finally, she lets her hands drop; the song ends and the crowd applauds for them.

After the band finishes, and the class is presented by their principal and accepted by the Board of Education, the moment they had been waiting for for so long finally arrived.

Each row of students, divided between the two side of the long aisle, walked to either side of the stage, go their picture taken holding the cover for their diplomas, and waited for their name to be called.

It started with "Alyssa Anne Adams", cheers from her family came from somewhere in the audience, and continued, bouncing from one side to the other as each kid's name was read aloud.

"Graduating with Honors: Natalie Joy Bennett."

The quints row got closer and closer; the excitement and pure emotion of their family was building to its climax, and when "Amanda Louise Castle" was called, it started to bubble. Pictures were being snapped of their kids, and more than one video, from multiple angles, was being recorded.

"Graduating with Honors: Austin Michael Castle."They cheered for him, probably the loudest section in the arena. Their smart baby boy, with the love of science, who had accepted an athletic scholarship to Duke University in the fall. He was tall and long-limbed and smiling so wide as he walked across the stage and shook hands with the people he was supposed to, even stopping to hug the teacher at the end of his row when he went to sit back down. A kind soul, always with a childish grin on his face (much like his dad).

"Graduating with Honors: Danielle James Castle." More cheers; even louder this time. The oldest, the leader; the loose canon of their family, always ready with a sarcastic quip or a line that makes the jaws of everyone around her to drop to the floor. Obviously just as smart as her brother, her skills in the classroom as well as on the cheer mat earned her a scholarship to the University of Southern California in the fall.

"Graduating with Honors: Finn Elizabeth Castle." Even more cheers for their baby girl crossing the stage with her walker. It was a long road through school for that girl; overcoming so much in her short life. Finn, funnily enough, was a great combination of all of her siblings: kind, smart, sarcastic, witty, creative, with her own dash of personality that can only be described as uniquely, Finn. Her love of cooking was enough to get her into the American Culinary Institute.

"Liam Roy Castle," The loudest cheers of all for their boy. High School was a hard time for Liam, and at one point it looked as though he might not graduate. But he worked hard and was able to walk across the stage with his siblings and friends. Liam was moody, with a dry sense of humor. He was pessimistic and always thought the worst was going to happen. To this day, his parents joke that Liam is really the Milk Man's child as he was so different from the rest of his family. Liam's plans after high school were to take a gap year and work and figure out what he was going to do with his life. Maybe something to do with photography.

"Graduating with Honors: Miyana Cyan Castle." One last round of cheers for their girl. Creative, smart, silly, kind; Mia was a budding Triple Threat who truly spent the vast majority of her waking hours not at school at some sort of theater class or rehearsal or dance or singing lesson or taking classes at her Grandmother's acting school or helping out with younger kids at said acting school. Miyana would be attending her mom's Alma Mater: New York University in their Theater Department hoping to major in Music Education and be involved in Musical Theater as well.

Rick looks to his wife and sees her wiping tears from her eyes. She's laughing and crying at the same time; not sure what to feel so she feels it all at once. He takes her hand and squeezes it.

"They did it," he tells her, leaning close.

She kisses him, grabbing onto his face, smiling so wide when she pulls back. "They did it." And it's the only thing they can say to sum up thirteen years of school for their kids.

Their group settles down as more kids are called. But they cheer again when "Saccone Giada DeCarlo" is called. And once again when "Graduating with Honors: Jackson Marcel Gomez" is called. And once last time when "Corinne Leanne Brookfield" is called as one of the last names.

There are a few more speeches and then, Mr. Stone asks the entire graduating class to stand. "Alright, let's do this just how we practiced, okay?" He asks them. "Seniors: as your last act as Grizzlies, I want you to move your tassels from the right to the left side of your caps, signifying you are now, officially, graduates of Terence Winter High School!"

The audience goes absolutely nuts! Cheers and whistles and thunderous applause fill the room and the graduates on the floor and smiling and crying and hugging each other and slapping fives.

Their principal releases them, and the band plays as they file out of the room.

And that it's; the ceremony is over. Their kids have graduated.

[] []

"Keep looking, Chy!" Castle says to the toddler now seated on his shoulders for a better vantage point of the crowd. They were all doing the same thing: looking for their kids and trying to make it out of the parking lot in a timely manner.

"I looking, Grandpa!" Chyler shouts to him. "Look! Mimi! Bubby! Over here!"

And sure enough, Miyana and Austin appear with envelopes in their hands and giant smiles on their faces. They get bombarded with hugs from all of their family and Chyler gets passed from her grandfather's shoulders into her Uncle Austin's arms, where she is promptly hung upside down by her ankles. The other three join their group after a while and more hugs ensue as well as multiple pictures; a select few even capture a rare actual smile out of Liam (who has perfected the half-smirk so well)

Once every has been collected, they all head back to cars, stopping for hug and pictures with friends, and get into the long line to exit the parking lot.

[][]

After changing out of nice clothes and into something more comfortable, the family all head out for dinner at one of the Quintuplets favorite places, where they stuff their faces so full of amazingly delicious food, there is no room for dessert.

Back at home, after their dinner has had time to settle, they cut into the cake: marble cake (the kids favorite), white frosted with green and gold trim, with "Congratulations Danielle, Liam, Miyana, Austin, and Finn" written on it is neat cursive, and spend time talking and laughing and enjoying themselves.

There are envelopes full of cards and fat checks waiting for them from their family, as well as brand new laptop computers that their Great Aunt Theresa had surprised them with. Needless to say, her gift was the highlight of that moment and elicited more than a few excited shrieks and squeals from the kids.

The night ends where it usually does: on the couch in the living room, multiple conversations going on at once, lots of laughter; it's warm, and happy, and right.


	32. Latte Casanova

He'd passed by the café at least a hundred times. Stopped in on occasion, usually on early mornings before his shift started; a moment's pause on icy winter days when the wind stung like a million bees.

It's a quirky place, perfect for its spot in the west village; mismatched plates and cups and various seating options ranging between worn-in couches and armchairs to classic French cafe tables and even kitchen tables straight out of your Aunt Elinor's house. There's a fireplace along one wall and an overstuffed bookcase tucked into a corner where patrons could take a book in exchange for one of theirs. It did steady business, not as much as certain establishments, but it did alright.

This was his first time coming since getting back from overseas and it looked as though the quiet hole in the wall coffee shop he had left had grown in popularity tenfold. The line was backed to the door, and the room was filled with a din of noise he hadn't experienced in this place. The few people he recognized saw him and he smiled and waved, exchanging pleasantries with them, stepping forward as the line moved.

Eventually, he was three people back, but the line had not moved for nearly five minutes. Liam peaks around the people in front of him to see the kid working the register arguing with a dark haired girl in front of him. He sighs and falls back into line, checking his cell phone. But after another few moments, when the line still hadn't moved, Liam looks again to see the same girl standing there, gesturing wildly with her hands.

And a second later he hears the barista shout at her. "I can't understand you when you talk like that."

Something in the way he said it made Liam listen a little more closely.

The girl starts gesturing again, and now that he is paying better attention, Liam sees it is actually sign language! And when she speaks to the teenager in front of her, her voice comes out lisp-like and very deep in her throat, like the words are stuck there.

"Can I get a coffee please?"

"Can I get a coffee, please?" The kid mockingly mimics the girl's words. "You need to speak properly so people can understand you," he finishes, crossing his arms over his chest.

And in that sentence, he took it over the line straight into 'Rude' territory. How the hell did this guy get hired?

Liam was having _none_ of it. He sacrificed his place in line and walked up to the girl, tapping on the counter to get her attention because he'd heard somewhere that waving your hand in front of a deaf person's face was extremely rude.

When she meets his eyes, he's taken aback at how absolutely beautiful she was. Deep brown hair, equally dark, round eyes, tawny skin that glowed golden from within and rosy pink lips that curved upward in a slight smile. And from this close-up, Liam sees the clear hooks and gray molds of her hearing aids.

"Hi. Do you need help?" Liam, in the choppy sign language he remembered from taking it in high school, asked the girl.

"Yes, please," she said. And despite her accent, and the barista's interpretation of it, Liam understood the girl perfectly. The relief in her voice is instantly obvious, and Liam is surprised no one in the room had come to her rescue sooner. "My phone is dead; otherwise I would have used that."

"No problem," He nods to the girl, sending her a reassuring smile, before setting his jaw and turning back to the rude barista. "What part of 'Can I please get a coffee?' do you not understand?"

"I don't understand it when someone talks like this," the guy says, shifting his voice back to the mocking one again.

"She's deaf, you dumbass!" Liam grunts, clenching his hands into fists. He would _never_ speak to an employee anywhere like that, his parents taught him better, but he figures they can forgive him just this once.

"Can I help you?" a woman manning the other end of the counter asks, coming over, pulling on her ponytail to tighten it.

"Yes: can you get you manager for me, please?" Liam asks her, his whole demeanor softening again.

"Yeah, sure. Hold on." She leaves, and Liam and the dark haired girl step to the side so the rest of the line can be taken care of by the rude barista. Liam gets smiles and thumbs ups and whispered praise from the patrons in line and he doesn't know how to respond to it, so he simply nods and smiles back.

The female employee returns with her manager.

"What seems to be the problem?" the manager, whose nametag reads 'Carla', asks him.

"Well, your employee was very rude to my friend here and refusing to take her order. Now we don't want to cause trouble, but I think he owes her an apology," Liam says, pointing to the girl he had helped.

"You are exactly right," Carla agrees. "And I'm really sorry that happened to you," she says to the girl.

"It's fine, really. People are rude sometimes; it comes with the territory," the girl answers with a shrug.

"Well I'll get him to apologize to you and your coffee is on the house."

"Thank you," the girl smiles. "And thank you, for helping," she says turning to Liam.

"Eh, it was nothing," he waves it off. "Anyone would have done it."

"But they didn't. And you did. Thanks."

He smiles and chuckles awkwardly. "I never even introduced myself. How rude is that?"

"I'm Ingrid," she smiles, extending a hand.

"Liam," he counters, shaking the girl's hand.

"Well it's nice to meet you," she laughs, signing at the same time.

"You too," Liam replies, copying the sign Ingrid had showed him.

"Very good," she smiles. He smiles back, feeling the happy flutter of butterflies in his stomach.

After the rude barista comes back and apologizes to Ingrid, and his manager sends him home (apparently this wasn't his first offense), Liam places his order and stealthily pins a card for his photography business on the bulletin board above the table with the napkins and jugs of milk and creamer on it as he waits. When his name is called, he takes his cup, sends one final half-smile to Ingrid, and leaves the café.

[] []

Ingrid coughs, her arms on top of her head as she catches her breath. Bronchitis had knocked her down the past few weeks and basically put her training for an upcoming half-marathon to a grinding halt. This was her first run since getting sick and it was going terribly.

She pulls out her headphones and half-jogs across the street, waving at a driver who had stopped to let her cross. She wipes her face with the back of her hand, the slight breeze in the air sends chills up her spine as it evaporates the sweat on the back of her neck, and pulls open the door to the café.

She hasn't been back since before getting sick, but everything looks just about the same and the place is just as busy as last time. Ingrid scans the room as she waits in line to order, and one person, in particular, makes her hold her gaze a little longer. He's throwing his trash away, so all she gets is his profile, but something about it looks familiar. Nice.

When he turns around, she instantly recognizes him as the guy from a few weeks prior; the one who was so nice to help her.

Liam.

After he left with his cup of coffee, Ingrid saw the card he had pinned to the bulletin board and she may or may not have followed his photography business' Instagram page. And then she may or may not have been silently stalking it in the weeks since they met.

"Hey!" He calls and waves, obviously spotting her too, getting her attention. She waves back, quickly places her order (to a very nice staff member this time), and walks over to him, smiling. "How are you?" he says and signs at the same time. It's one of the few he's learned since their first meeting.

"I'm good," she smiles. "You've been practicing!" Ingrid says and signs, noticing his effort in attempting sign language.

"Eh, here and there," he shrugs.

"Wow, professional setup there, huh?" she asks, pointing to the laptop on the table in front of him, and the pile of SD cards next to it.

"I like to think so," he says, being coy about it.

"Trying to hack into the White House or pirating movies?" Ingrid asks, pointing to the cards.

Liam laughs at that; smile wide, eyes crinkled, full of surprise and joy. "No, though it's a good thought. I had a photography session yesterday and I'm just doing some editing. I needed to get out of the house or I probably would have gone crazy."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

And for a moment, there is a lull in their conversation; and awkward pause that makes both of them fiddle with anything their hands can get a hold of.

"Hey-"  
"Can-"

They both laugh.

"You go first," Liam offers.

"Oh, um, I was just gonna ask if I could see some of your stuff?"

"Haven't you seen it already?" When Ingrid's eyes go wide, he laughs. "When someone likes twenty of your Instagram posts in a span of three minutes, you start looking out for them."

"Oh, wow," Ingrid chuckles, embarrassed. "I didn't think you would notice. But in my defense: you're a really good photographer."

"Oh. Well in that case: like as many of my photos as you want. And hey, tell people about me."

"Why? So I can make your ego even bigger?" She teases.

"No, so you can spread the word. But if it grows my ego in the process, why not kill two birds with one stone?"

Ingrid chuckles, rolling her eyes. "You know what? Just for that, I'm going to comment horrible stuff on your pictures and tell all my friends how cocky and into himself this guy is," she says, verbally sticking her tongue out at him.

"Go ahead," Liam replies, picking up on her tease. "I think that's you," he says when her name gets called.

"Oh! Thanks." She returns a moment later, coffee in hand. He was once again hunched over his laptop, complete focus on the picture on the screen in front of him. Wanting to stay, but realizing she'd be more a distraction than anything, Ingrid walks back to the counter, borrows a pen and writes a note on a napkin.

She slides the note under Liam's elbow and taps his arm. When he looks up, she smiles and walks away.

 _Text me._ Two words scrawled in neat cursive along with a phone number. Liam looks between the note and the door a few times, shocked and surprised.

Ten minutes later, he texts her.


	33. The first First Day of School

"Mommy? What will Kindergarten be like?" Her son's voice comes from behind where she sits at the wheel.

"Well, buddy, I think it will be a lot like pre-school. You'll go and have Circle Time, and do lessons and play with toys. You'll go to recess and eat lunch and then maybe read a book. You'll have music class and do some more lessons and then you'll ride the school bus home or me or Daddy will pick you up."

"Oh. But will me and Austin be in different classes again?"

"I don't know," she answers honestly. "We'll find out when we get there."

They were just days away from the start of the school year, and headed to 'Meet the Teacher Night' at the kids' school. No sooner had she said that, they were cresting a hill and turning into the quickly filling parking lot in front of the elementary school.

There was a mass of people standing in front of the doors that led to the Kindergarten classroom, where the class lists were taped to the glass panes, so the Castle family decided to avoid that area for the time being.

"Guys, come here, I wanna show you something." Castle leads his family to a yellow marked part of the parking lot, caddy corner from the flag pole. "This is where the buses will be," he explains to his kids. "In the morning you'll be picked up by a teacher here and then he or she will take you to your class line, okay? And after school, a teacher will drop you off here and then you'll ride the bus home."

"How will we know when to get off when we go home?" Finn asks, very serious and analytical. "I'm scared we'll get lost."

"Don't' worry, Nemo, you won't get lost. The first few times you ride home, the driver or an assistant will tell you when to get off, and then once you learn, you can do it on your own. So don't worry."

"Okay," Finn answers, still worried, but assured a little bit.

Noticing the mass of people had thinned out, Kate changes the subject and gets her kids' attention. "Hey, you guys wanna go find out who your teachers are?"

That piques their interest, and a second later all five are running to find their names on the class lists.

[] []

The kids are split between the two full-day kindergarten classes: three in one and two in the other, and unfortunately for Liam, he and his twin were once again put into separate classes, but he didn't seem too phased about it once the initial reaction wore off.

While Castle takes Liam and Danielle into their classroom to meet their teacher, Kate, Austin, Miyana, and Finn go next door to meet theirs.

The first thing Kate notices, placed directly across from the door, above the classic kidney shaped group table, is a poster for a very known and loved movie in their house.

"Look, Mommy! It's Daddy's movie!"

And apparently, her daughter noticed it too.

"I see, baby," Kate smiles.

"What do you see?" The teacher for the class asks, coming over to them.

"Your _Forbidden Planet_ poster; it's my husband's favorite," Kate answers.

"Oh, really? That's funny, it's one of mine too," she smiles. "It's good to see you again," the teacher says, shaking Kate's hand. The two had been introduced the week before at a meeting regarding accommodations for Finn's special needs.

"You too," Kate smiles.

"I'm Ms. Barnet, what are your names?" She asks, looking down and the three kids, huddled around their mom, suddenly shy.

Kate nudges her kids to answer their teacher, but none of them start. "This is Austin, Miyana, and Finn," Kate introduces, pointing out each child in succession.

The teacher, used to her students being scared and shy at first, trudges on, encouraging the kids to talk. "Did you have a good summer?" At their nods, she continues, "Do anything fun?"

And that was what hooked them. All at once, the three siblings begin talking.

"We went to Disney World!"  
"I didn't cheat doing the stairs at therapy."  
"I lost a tooth!" At that exclamation, Austin smiles, revealing the gap in his mouth.

"Wow! You guys sure had an eventful summer," Ms. Barnet laughs. "Do you guys want to find you cubbies?" She points in the direction of the row of cubbies where cut out stars list each student's name in black block letters. The three Castle kids walk over and before long there are shouts of "Found mine!" and "There's my name!" and "Mommy! Cambree is in my class!"

"Really?" Kate walks over to where her daughter stands, and sure enough, Danielle and Miyana's friend from cheerleading and tumbling class is written on the nametag. "Oh! That is awesome!"

"Is she a friend of yours?" Ms. Barnet asks.

"She's mine and Dani's best friend ever," Mia answers.

"Well, I'm glad your best friend ever is in your class."

The next quarter hour is spent exploring the classroom and the bins of toys and manipulatives they get to use for math class. The kids' brand new supplies are dropped off and sorted into the correct bins, and while the kids play with the toys and a few of their fellow classmates, Kate fills out forms and a 'Getting to know you' sheet for each of her children.

"Alright: let's go," Kate says, after finishing filling out the paperwork and starting to round up her brood. "Say bye, tell Ms. Barnet you'll see her Monday!"

"Bye, Ms. Barnet! See you Monday!" Miyana's answer comes with a hug for her new teacher.

"Bye, Mia," the teacher replies, calling the girl by her preferred nickname. "I'll see you on Monday."

The other two say goodbye and the family leave the classroom, meeting their other half in the hallway.

"Mommy!" Liam shouts, running to his mother. "We have a guinea pig in our class! And we get to name it on Monday because it's a baby and doesn't have a name yet."

"Oh, that is awesome, dude," Kate comments. "Do you like your teacher?"

"Uh huh, he's nice," comes his nodding reply. "And we got to play with the Smart Board and pick our desks and –"

"Whoa! Slow down there, take a breath," Kate laughs, stopping her son with a hand.

"I'm so excited!" Liam jumps on the spot, clapping his hands together.

"I can see that," his mom says, pulling him in for a hug.

"Mommy, we have a _boy_ teacher," Danielle tells her like it's the craziest thing she has ever heard.

"I know. I think you're gonna like him," Kate tells her daughter.

"Maybe," Danielle shrugs.

"Hey, Dani, guess what," Miyana says, sidling up to her sister as if she holds some big secret.

"What?" Danielle replies.

"Cambree is in my class." Mia gets really smug and sassy with that, cocking her head, and sitting on her hip.

"No fair! Mommy! That's not fair!" Danielle cries, offended her friend isn't in her class. She whines and protests the arrangement until they get into the cafeteria and ice cream, provided by their school's PTA as a 'Welcome Back' treat, is physically in their mouths and going down their throats. And even then, she's still not happy.

While the kids are occupied with their treat, the parents meet other families with kids in the same class as theirs. Most have older kids going to the school and so they show Rick and Kate the ropes and explain the drop-off and pick-up routes and procedures and how to go online to check grades and their class page for messages from their teacher. Rick also gets up and follows a mom to a table in the corner of the cafeteria where they can set up and add money to their kids' student account so they can buy school lunch.

Finally, after a stop to play on the playground for a few minutes, the Castle family heads home to enjoy the last few days of summer vacation.

[] []

The first day of school dawned bright and early. Five little bodies were awoken and pushed into a new morning routine, different than ones they previously had. Uniforms were picked out; teeth were brushed, faces washed. Hair was brushed and styled per the wearer's requests. Socks and shoes were put on, and breakfast was eaten, some at the breakfast bar, others at the table used for family meals.

Grandparents and older siblings arrived to celebrate the moment and see the kids off for their first day. There were a lot of excited, little bodies jumping around telling their older sister and brother-in-law about their classes and new school and showing off new backpacks. The grandparents, who had already heard the stories in the days prior, simply chuckle and watch on, sipping the cups of coffee their children offered them.

Individual and group pictures were snapped what seemed like hundreds of times to the kindergarteners until the amount and quality satisfied the adults in the family. Said photos were immediately posted onto every social media platform imaginable, and instantly got multiple likes and comments of 'They are so big!' and 'Kindergarten already? Wow!' and the ever popular 'Give them my love!'

Finally, forty minutes before the school day was due to start, Rick and Kate got their kids loaded into the car, after hugs and kisses from older siblings and grandparents, and off to school.

Traffic was an absolute nightmare in front of the school, and Rick, who was the one driving for a change, pulled into the first spot he could find. The family walked up the hill and joined a group waiting at the corner for the crossing guard to stop traffic and allow them to cross the street. All the kids excitedly high five the guard as they cross and the individual families break off to find their class lines.

The kindergarten area was barely controlled pandemonium; bodies all over the place, voices overlapping each other, pictures flashing, laughter, tears, and forty-seven little bodies with backpacks almost as big as they are hung over their shoulders. But somehow two lines formed for the individual classes, and the kids managed to stay around the line they were supposed to.

The bell goes off the and the kids who were doing fine before start growing nervous and scared and begin to look around for their parents, making sure they hadn't left yet.

"You're alright," Rick says, rubbing his son's back. "Mommy's going to work and I'm gonna get some coffee and I'll see you later, right? Just like pre-school," he tries to reassure him, knowing he knows that, but nerves are getting the best of him.

"Okay," Austin nods, not really sure, but trying to be brave. His line starts to move and he throws a petrified look at his dad and squeezes his hand harder. Luckily, the parents are allowed to follow their kids inside and help them get settled, so Castle stays with Austin, while Kate joins Liam and Danielle to help them.

The first day is all about establishing routines, so after putting their backpacks in their cubbies, the kids go to their tables to work on Morning Work. After they finish a First Day of School activity, Ms. Barnet moves them to the carpet where they listen to a story and go over the calendar.

"Alright guys, turn to your parents and blow them a kiss and wave them goodbye, it's time for them to leave," Ms. Barnet instructs. The twenty-three kids all turn to their respective parents and do as they are told, and some call "Bye, Mommy!" and "Bye, Daddy!" including his own children. Castle smiles and waves and follows the other parents back outside.

"Well that was crazy," Castle chuckles, meeting up with Kate and hooking an arm around her waist.

"It was," she nods. "How did they get so big, Castle?"

"I don't know."

It's the only words he has. His tiny babies are grown-up and going to actual school. It seemed hard and sad when Alexis started Kindergarten, but now? It feels twenty times worse.

"Come, on," He steers them back their car; the school yard suddenly quiet. "It helps to stay busy on the first day."

Once in the car, Kate starts to cry; huge tears and hiccupping sobs. Castle stays quiet, one hand on the wheel as he starts driving again, the other on his wife's arm.

"Oh, god!" Kate sighs, raking back her hair. "I'm a mess." She wipes under her eyes and checks her visor mirror for smeared mascara. "I know they need this, to go to school and learn and be independent and make friends. but-"

"But it's hard to see them grow up because they're not babies anymore?" He finishes.

"Yeah. It's dumb, I know."

"Not dumb at all. All parents think that way."

"Yeah," she nods, blinking away the last of her tears. They've made it home and Kate unbuckles and reaches for the door handle to get to her car. "Alright, I'll see you later. I'll try and meet you at the school in time to pick them up, but if not I'll just meet you back here, okay?"

"Okay," Castle nods. "Have fun today, get lost in it for a while."

"I will. Love you."

"Love you too." And with one last kiss, Kate closes the passenger door and crosses the driveway to her car. Rick waits until she's backing out of their driveway and down their street to follow behind, headed to a coffee for a writing date with a few friends.

[] []

"I believe you, Carla. I know it was just an accident. You didn't mean to kill her. I know that," Kate says to the girl curled into a ball on the chair across from her. She's refusing to meet her eyes, but Beckett knows she's gotten through. "I can help you. But I need you to say it." There's another moment of silence where the only sound in the room is the clock ticking and their breathing.

"I did it. I stabbed her," Carla finally says before breaking down, hiding her face in her knees.

While Carla fills out her end of the paperwork, Kate leaves the interrogation room, making a beeline for her desk. She grabs her phone and luckily Castle hasn't texted her yet asking where she is. Until a second later when a message buzzes through.

 _You left yet?_

Kate, phone in hand, goes to the open door of her captain's office and knocks once on the doorframe to signal her arrival.

"Sir? The case is closed, got a full confession. All that's left to do is paperwork. I know we're still on call until five, but mine and Ryan's kids had their first day of school today and I know they would love it if we were there to pick them up."

"Yes, you and Detective Ryan may leave early," Captain Gates says, taking off her reading glasses. "I remember how important the first day was."

"Thank you, Sir," Kate says, turning to leave, hoping Gates will say what she is thinking she will.

"And tell Detective Esposito he can leave as well. No use letting two of you go and not the third."

"Yes, Sir, thank you," Kate responds, smiling.

 _Leaving right now. Be there soon._

Off her two partner's questioning looks, Kate nods at them and smiles and the boys waste no time in shutting down their computers and packing up to leave. Javi reaches the elevator first and holds the door for the other two. They ride down to the parking garage together and split off for their individual cars, calling goodbye to each other.

[] []

"Hey!" Kate says, striding up to him, quickly kissing his cheek. They're standing with the other parents in a group in front of the kindergarten doors, just as they were that morning.

"Hey. Good day?"

"Yeah, actually it was. I did what you said: I got lost in it."

"And?"

"And it worked. Closed the case just before you texted me. Full confession and everything," she smiles.

"Nice," he grins back.

They're only waiting another few minutes before the bell rings, and a moment later kids start appearing around the corner, headed home in a million different directions. The kindergarten kids not riding a bus or headed to After School Care are released one by one to their parent or guardian.

Liam spies them first, and after pointing them out to his teacher, dashes over to them. "Mommy! Daddy!"

"Hey, buddy!" Rick says, catching his son in a hug.

"Did you have a good day?" Kate asks after getting her own hug.

"It was awesome!" He's barely begun his explanation of his day when his siblings rush them, each one equally excited. There are hugs all around and somehow Kate ends up carrying three of their backpacks.

Their walk back to the car is full of excited chatter and tales from their first day: Miyana and Cambree sitting together at the same table, Austin's class getting PE as their special for the day, the guinea pig in Liam and Danielle's class had been named Twilight Ninja. Once everyone is buckled in, Kate leaves the rest of her family for her own car and ten minutes later, everyone is back home.

Folders stuffed with paperwork for the parents to sign and look over are opened and flipped through, and five kids sit at the kitchen table and work on their first homework assignment: tracing patterns and the letters in their names.

Their regular nightly routine continued as normal with play time, dinner, showers, relaxing with a show, and then up to bed to do it all again tomorrow.

"What was your favorite part of today?" Kate asks her daughter as she tucks her in.

"Um, I liked free choice and reading books best," the girl answers, looping an arm around her favorite stuffed animal.

"I'm glad you had a good day," Kate smiles. She gives the girl one last kiss and heads for the door. After one last 'I love you', Kate turns out the light and closes the door.


	34. Introductions

**A/N: Hey, Nerds! So after** 'Gotcha Day' **where we meet Henry, a guest reviewer wanted a follow up to it showing how Caskett react to meeting their newest grandchild. So here's that for you!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Cartoons play quietly from the TV as a little girl sipping from a cup of chocolate milk watches on. Her momma sits nearby getting the girl's new baby brother changed and dressed for the day. The baby protests loudly and tries to roll away, but only gets to his belly when Ashley pulls him back to face her.

"No you don't, Papas," she scolds him. "I know it's not fun, but if you sit still, it will be over soon." She plays peek-a-boo with Henry as she slips a new onesie over his head, this one is green with a smiling frog on the front, and snaps the buttons between his legs. She slides gray pants over his legs, and with a tickle to his stomach, she finishes with him and turns to grab his sister's outfit. "Come on, Mace. Let's get dressed."

But their morning routine is interrupted when a knock comes at their door. Ashley gets up to answer it, grumbling the whole time about how knocking on someone's door this early should be illegal. She turns the lock and opens the door to reveal her in-laws.

"Hey!" They both say smiling.

"Hey!" Ashley says, hugging Kate first and then Rick.

"You know, you should really look into getting a better doorman. He let us with no trouble," Castle tells her with a smirk.

Ashley laughs. "Sam's the best. He likes you, that's why you got in so easily. Whenever my brother comes by, Sam makes him wait out on the street for as long as possible. He claims Mat rubs him the wrong way." Everyone chuckles at that and finally move out of the hallway.

"Grandma! Grandpa!" Macey, who had been hiding behind the couch to see who was at the door, shouts, racing into the open arms of her grandparents.

"Hi, baby!" Castle scoops her up and kisses her cheeks. "How are you?"

"Good," Macey replies, reaching out for a hug from her grandma. Kate takes her and hugs the toddler tight. "Do you want to see Baby Henry?" She asks, wiggling to be let down, and, not waiting for an answer, takes her grandma's hand and leads her into the living room where her brother is laying on the floor trying to get a toy a few feet away from him.

"Oh my gosh," Kate gasps. "Oh, he is gorgeous," she says, turning to look at Ashley. The mom is smiling back, taking in the moment of grandmother meeting her newest grandson for the first time. "Hey, buddy," Kate says to Henry, kneeling on the floor next to him. The baby turns at the new voice and doesn't even hesitate in giving his grandma a giant, dimpled smile. "You are so sweet!" Kate says, scooping Henry into her arms and kissing his round cheeks.

"Does Grandma got you, huh? Does she got you?" Ashley asks her son, getting his attention. She watches as Henry looks from her to Kate and back again before smiling and sticking his hand into his mouth.

"He's smiles so easy! Macey was never like that as a baby," Kate says.

"That's what my mom said!" Ashley laughs.

"Here: let me have him," Castle tells his wife, requesting his turn to meet the new baby. Kate hands him over and holds back a surprised gasp when Castle lifts Henry to the sky before bringing him to his chest. "Hey, buddy. It's good to finally meet you," he smiles down at him. Henry is a bit apprehensive at the new person holding him, but after reassuring words and smiles from his momma realizes that everything is okay and settles down.

While Castle is enjoying the baby, Kate attends to her granddaughter who had been demanding her attention since she picked up the baby.

"Wow! Very pretty," Kate says, admiring the new outfit Henry had brought Macey for her baby doll. When the toddler scampers off for something else to show her grandparents, Kate settles onto the couch next to Castle and makes faces at the baby still in his arms.

"Sorry Dani's not up yet," Ashley apologizes sitting next to them. "They had a night shoot last night and she didn't get home until five."

"Ouch," Kate grimaces.

"Yeah," Ashley agrees, nodding. "Tell me about it. But it wasn't like I was sleeping. This one doesn't sleep but a couple of hours if we're lucky." Ashley says, pointing to her son.

"Oh no! I'm sorry," Kate tells her with a pat on her leg.

"Eh, it's fine," Ashley shrugs. "He doesn't seem too bothered by it." She points at her son who is happily smiling at his grandpa and grabbing at his glasses.

Castle takes them off and puts them on his grandson's face. The adults laugh and 'aw' at the sight and quickly snap pictures before Henry realizes and rips them off, flinging them as far as he can.

"Henry, no!" Ashley cries.

"It's fine," Castle says. "It's not the first time, won't be the last. Macey, will you grab my glasses for me, please?" He asks his granddaughter. The girl obliges, bringing them over and snuggling close to Castle. He gets the girl talking all about her preschool class and gymnastics lessons and her brother.

Ashley lets nearly a quarter hour pass, watching her kids interact with their grandparents when a casual glance at her cell phone brought realization to her very quickly. "Oh, we are so late! Macey Kate, we gotta get dressed and go to school," she says, standing and going for the forgotten outfit still laid out on the floor.

"No!" Macey cries, clinging to her grandpa's neck.

Ashley sighs, raking back her hair. "Mace, we don't have time for this. Come get dressed, you're going to be late for school."

"Uh-uh," the girl refuses.

"Macey Katherine, you have until three. One. Two-"

"No! I wanna stay with grandma and grandpa!" Macey is truly crying now, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Hey, hey, none of that," Castle croons, hugging Macey and kissing her temple. "I know you're excited that grandma and I are here. And you're scared that you're gonna miss something fun while you're at school, huh?"

"Uh-huh," Macey nods, bottom lip puffed out.

"Yeah, I would be too. But I promise you're not. Grandma and I are just gonna rest and hang out with your brother and wait for your mommy to get up. The only fun you're gonna miss is at preschool if you don't go. Okay?" when she nods against him, Rick smiles. "Okay. Now, go put on that pretty flower dress. I wanna see you in it." Macey slides down, grabs her dress and follows her mom into her bedroom. They return a few minutes later, Macey, dressed and ready for school, is smiling as she skips over to her brother and grandparents.

"Wow! Look at you! So pretty!" Rick exaggerates, grinning wide. Mace preens for them, her dimples coming out in her smile.

"Okay, we really have to go now," Ashley insists. And after a round of hugs, the girls leave Henry under the watch of his grandparents and head off to school.

[] []

It's more afternoon than morning, and nearly time to pick Macey up from school, when Danielle finally emerges from her bedroom. She walks down the hall rubbing the remnants of sleep from her eyes, her blonde curls bed ruffled, wearing cotton sleep shorts and a navy camisole, and stops short in the doorway when she sees her mom sitting on the couch.

"Hey," she says, voice thick with sleep.

"Hey, baby girl!" Kate smiles, patting the seat next to her. Danielle goes to her, sitting down slowly, trying as much as possible not to jostle a sleeping Henry on her mom's chest. "He's beautiful," Kate murmurs, leaning close to her daughter.

"Thank you," Danielle replies. She runs a soft hand around his round cheek and through his soft, dark hair.

"How are you guys doing?"

"We're good," Danielle nods. "Not getting much sleep, but we're good."

"Yeah, I know how that is," Kate adds with a dry chuckle.

"Yeah. And Macey loves him to death. She's such a big help. And Ashley and I make sure we get some one-on-one time with her. Especially that first week we brought him home. It was such a big change and we were worried she would start acting out, but she didn't. We were kind of surprised. Let's hope it stays that way," Dani says, crossing her fingers.

"I think she'll be okay. If they're anything like you and Liam, they're gonna fight like an old married couple one minute and the next they're best friends."

"Oh, God, I hope not!" Danielle laughs, remembering how she and her brother were as kids. "Where is everyone?" she asks, standing and heading for the kitchen and the coffee maker.

"You know your dad, he can't sit still for ten minutes," Kate says, shaking her head. "Ashley took him to the store to pick up a few things."

"Oh, okay. Hey, have you talked to Miyana and Byron? How are they doing? How's Emi?." Henry wasn't the only new member of their family, Miyana, only a few week prior, had given birth to her second child, a girl they named Emilia.

"They're good. Same as you guys: adjusting. Jaycee stayed with us for a few days, so we spoiled her rotten. Mia says it's pretty tough with her now, having a younger sibling and not being the center of attention anymore, but they are working through it. Oh, she is too cute, Dani, You're not going to be able to handle it."

"Oh, I know, Mia sent me pictures," Danielle says, smiling. "Thank God we have Henry now. Simon was starting to get outnumbered. At least now, the boys stand a chance I'll have to call them, check on things." Dani finishes putting together her drink and resettles on the couch. Twenty minutes later, Ashley and Rick come through the front door, arms loaded with shopping bags.

"Whoa! Where did you guys go?" Danielle asks, surprised.

"A few places," Ashley says, underplaying the amount of groceries they had brought home.

"I can see that," Dani nods. "Hey, Dad," she says hugging him.

"Hey, baby," he smiles.

During all the commotion, Henry had woken up and was not happy about it, so while Ashley attended to him, Danielle helped finish unpacking the groceries with her dad. The two rejoined the others on the couch and had only sat down for a moment when the alarm went off signaling it was time to leave to collect Macey from school.

"I'll get her," Danielle insists, standing. "I haven't seen since yesterday. It will be nice to spend some time together." And a moment later, she disappears into her room to get cleaned up.


	35. Photoshoot Fun

"Alright, let's have you hold him like this," The photographer tells her husband, switching his hands under their newborn son.

With the infant held nose-to-nose with his dad, their favorite photographer, Mia's brother Liam, snaps pictures from every angle; front, side, over both shoulders, even from lying on his back under them. "Oh that's good," Liam smiles, looking at a preview of the pictures on his camera. "Look, Mia," He says, crossing the room to his sister.

"Oh, those are beautiful," Miyana sighs, tears coming to her eyes.

"Aw, babe, don't cry," Byron says, going to his wife and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm not, it's those stupid hormones," she laughs, wiping at her eyes.

"Do you want to do some with the two of you now?" Liam asks.

"Yeah," the parent's nod.

"Okay, go make yourselves comfortable on the bed," he directs.

Liam had taken over their bedroom in their apartment. Lights, props, and cameras were everywhere, and despite the mild fifty-degree weather they were having at the end of October, it was swelteringly hot in the room, so much so, a window had been cracked.

Once again, pictures were snapped, lights flashed, poses and angles were shifted. The baby was handed off from one parent to the other and eventually placed across their laps. Through it all, he was so good, so patient; he didn't cry or scream like some of the babies Liam had photographed in his time.

"This is the one," Liam says, after one particular shot.

"Let me see!" Miyana says eagerly, holding out her hands.

"No way, I want it to be a surprise," her brother says.

"Liam! That's not fair!" Mia whines.

"Life's not fair," he retorts.

And, for the first time since their photoshoot started, the infant let out a loud cry. He'd had enough and was done with being posed and passed around. He just wanted his mommy.

"See? He agrees with me," Mia says, looking down at her son, sticking in his pacifier, hoping to hold him off just a few more seconds.

"Sorry, little man, you're gonna have to wait," Liam responds, shaking his head and rubbing a hand over the baby's hair. "We're gonna go check on the girls," he says, looking to Byron, who nods. "And give you two a few minutes and then finish up, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks, Liam. For all of this; I really appreciate it."

"Always." Brother smiles at sister and the two men leave the room.

[] []

Outside in the living room, over the cartoons playing on the TV, two older sisters excitedly waiting their turn to have their pictures taken were shouting and shrieking and laughing as they played chase on the furniture in the room. Liam, camera still around his neck, took some candid pictures of the scene, including one of Byron scooping his youngest daughter off the arm of the couch where she had been jumping off and face-planting onto the cushions. Emilia howls with laughter as her dad holds her upside down and blows raspberries onto her belly.

"No! Aba! No!" she laughs, gasping for air.

"I'll save you!" Liam cries, taking Emi and tossing her back onto the couch. She looks up with a giant smile on her face, pushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Do me next, Uncle Liam!" Jaycee shouts, arms raised.

"Okay," Liam grunts, picking up his niece. "Watch out, Emi." And as soon as she moves, Liam tosses her sister into the spot she had just been. Jace squeals through the air, landing with a soft 'umph', and a peal of giggles. The game continues for a few more minutes before Liam stops them.

"Sorry guys, I'm tired," he explains to his nieces. "We'll do it again later, okay?"

"Aba? Will you throw us?" Jaycee asks, hopeful, turning her brown eyes on her father.

"Nope, sorry," Byron declines, shaking his head. "Throwing little girls is a job for Uncle Liam."

"Okay," Jace pouts. But her mood doesn't last long and soon she is off in a corner playing Legos with her sister. The two men steal the tv and flip between the football games being shown, yelling at the refs when they make stupid calls on their team. Before long, Miyana texts her husband that is is safe to come back into the room.

"Come on girls," Byron says, standing, "let's go finish getting our pictures taken." The sisters jump up, leaving Legos strewn all over, extremely excited for it to finally be their turn.

"Eema! Guess what? Uncle Liam threw us onto the couch and he spun me and I landed like this," Jaycee says, bursting into her parents' bedroom and throwing herself onto the bed at her mom's feet.

"I heard. You guys sounded like you were having a lot of fun," Miyana laughs.

"It was really fun," Jace nods, crawling up to sit next to her mom.

"Can we do our pictures now?" Emilia asks, tugging on her dad's hand.

"Yes, right now," Liam answers. "Go sit next to your mommy, I want a few pictures of just you girls."

Emi happily climbs up the bed and settles herself into Mia's other side. She looks between her mom and sister, then down at her own pink and white striped legging and finally at her brother, realizing that one thing in this group doesn't belong. "Abba, come get Calvin, he's not a girl," Emilia instructs.

"Yes, ma'am," Byron says, laughing with his wife and brother-in-law, taking the baby from his mom, letting his daughters wriggle closer to their mom.

"Oh, that's so good!" Liam grins, starting to snap pictures. "Jace: look at Emi." More snaps. "Mia: tilt your head a little. Yes, just like that!" A few more. "Okay, daddy? Ready to come in?"

Byron sets the baby in his crib and joins the girls. More pictures; looking this way and that, holding different people, even one where the kids end up sitting on their dad's shoulders that makes everyone laugh until their sides hurt. And finally the baby joins their family, and another set of photos is shot.

"Okay: mom and dad, you need to leave," Liam says, changing out his memory card.

"What!? Why?" Miyana asks.

"Because I want a few with the kids and what we do in here is a surprise," Liam explains.

"Yeah, it's a surprise, Jaycee agrees.

"Fine, fine, we're going," the parents relent, glancing back at the kids every step of the way.

[] []

For the next two weeks, Miyana tried to get information about the secret photo shoot out of her daughter's, but they kept their lips zipped. Except for one afternoon when she was this close to getting Emilia to crack, had even bribed the girl with ice cream and a new toy, when her sister, having just returned home from school, quickly squashed any reveal by slapping a hand over her sister's mouth and reminding her of the promise they made to their uncle.

"Okay, I get it," Miyana says to the retreating forms of her daughters as they run off to play. "I'll wait."

Finally, at the end of the second week, Liam returns to their apartment and is immediately bombarded by his nieces to continue their game. So being the good uncle he is, Liam tosses the girls onto the couch a few times until he stops the game with the announcement that he had brought them all a surprise.

Once everyone is settled, Liam brings out his bag. He first hands over a flash drive of the entire photo session for Mia and Byron to keep on file. "Okay," he starts, pulling out a wrapped package. "When the kids and I did our part, I asked them which picture they liked best, and they liked a lot of them," he chuckles. "But this was the one they agreed on that you two would like best." he hands over the present and watches as his sister tears off the tissue paper and flips over the framed picture. The sobbing gasp that comes out of her mouth is words enough.

It's black and white, shot at a high angle, with both girls surrounding their baby brother. Jaycee and Emilia's heads are touching and their legs meet at a point out of frame that gives their small forms the impression of forming a heart.

"Oh my god! It's beautiful! Thank you, Liam," Miyana cries, getting up to hug her brother.

"You're welcome," he smiles.

"But Uncle Liam! Where's our surprise?"


	36. Ghosts, Ghouls, and Fools

**A/N: This is my contribution to the Castle Halloween Bash 2017. Just some fun with this Castle family of mine. Enjoy!**

* * *

The minute they enter the pop-up shop, her kids make a beeline to the area where all the costumes hang. She takes her time, browsing through the decorations, props, and scares that cover the remaining area of the store. She flinches as one triggers as she walks past, the animatronic face screams as it pushes through the crackling fabric screen of the old-fashioned TV it's trapped in, but grins when a kid runs up to it exclaiming how cool it is, begging his father to get one. Kate makes it to the costume section and looks for her kids, stopping to look at the costumes that catch her eyes. She still has yet to find one for the annual Castle Halloween Bash.

"Momma? What about this?" Her daughter asks, holding up a bag.

"I like that one," Kate smiles.

"Finn's already a Flower Child, she doesn't need a costume; all she has to do is get dressed," her brother remarks, coming over with his own bagged costume.

"I like this one," Finn states, turning back down the aisle. "I'm gonna go see if they have my size in the back."

"What do you have," Kate asks, turning to her son. He holds up the bag containing a black ninja costume. "Very cool, bud," Kate agrees, but her son simply shrugs.

"I don't know," he remarks, then disappears down the aisle to continue looking. Kate follows, but quickly turns when she hears her daughter call out.

"Oh my God! Mom! Mom, you gotta come see Austin!"

Kate turns the corner and laughs out loud at her son. "Oh my god! Austin, you have to get this one," she smiles. The eleven-year-old before her has transformed into Mario, complete with the mustache.

"Yeah?" He asks, seeking approval, though his mind was set.

"Oh, yes," Kate nods vigorously.

"Okay." And her son disappears into the temporary dressing rooms.

"What about you, Dan? You decide?"

"Yeah," her daughter nods, holding up the bag. "Saccone and I are going as Greek goddesses together. She got her costume last week and told me what to get."

"That will be cute," Kate says.

"I know, right!" Danielle agrees, blue eyes shining. The two wait together while the other four finalize their costumes. Finn returns to them disappointed that the store did not have the Hippie costume she chose in her size in stock. They had offered to order it online, but with such close proximity to the holiday, there was no guarantee it would arrive in time.

"We'll ask your Gram, okay?" Kate tries as Finn hugs her side, still pouting. "I bet she has some of her clothes from the 70's that would work."

"Yeah?" Nemo asks, hopeful.

"Yeah," Kate nods.

"Mom?" The question has Kate turning to meet her third daughter as she comes out of the dressing room, having tried on her costume.

"Yes, Mia, that looks great!" she nods. "Go get dressed so we can go, okay?"

Twenty minutes later, with bags full of costumes and accessories, the family leaves the store and heads back to their car to finish running errands for the day.

[] []

Ten days later, on the Saturday before Halloween, the Castle house was transformed into a spooky, festive environment fit for a party. Rick and Danielle were left to supervise the crew setting up for the event while the others headed off to support Liam and his club soccer team in their fall season championship game. The boy returned triumphant, and after showing off the glittering gold trophy he had brought home, he and the rest of his siblings rushed off to get ready for the party. Danielle was already holed up in her bathroom with her best friend, who had arrived not long before everyone else did, as the two put the final touches on their costume.

They were the first to come downstairs, blonde hair curled and pulled to one side with batching flowing dressed trimmed in gold that made their blue eyes shine, or in Saccone's case, make the silvery blue disappear into the whites of her eyes. Both girls jumped and screamed as one of the motion triggered decorations set by the front door went off, letting out an ear piercing shriek, but started laughing right after and schemed to scare as many people as they could before the night was up.

The rest of the family followed, each in their Halloween finery. Liam had chosen the ninja costume and hid in dark corners and behind doors, scaring anyone who walked by. Finn had borrowed an outfit from her grandmother, and with her curled hair and makeup done just so, she really did look like a Flower Child of the 70's. Alexis, Max, and their two kids arrive dressed as Supergirl, Superman, Princess Aurora, and a Lion respectively. Of course, everyone fawns over the one-year-old and his fuzzy lion costume for a while, especially after the decoration by the door goes off suddenly and scares him.

Before long, the doorbell begins ringing, and the party starts. Danielle and Saccone succeed in their goal to scare everyone when they come through the door, and Liam gets them when they least expect it the rest of the night.

The kids take over the basement with their friends and, reluctantly, their niece who just wanted to play with the Big Kids. They had their own food and games, and there was talk of Miyana's friend, Corinne, doing fortune telling for all of them.

And upstairs, drinks flowed as easily as conversation out of a smoking punch bowl. Snacks were served off of severed hands and plates held up by gargoyles, and themed music flowed out of the speakers. Rick Castle knew how to throw a party, and even the normally stoic Margret DeCarlo smiled and appeared to be having fun.

Rick and Miyana went in on a costume together, and wowed all their guests when they appeared dressed as Wednesday and Gomez Addams; the all black, the braids, the blank looks, everything. While Kate took a cue from her childhood and dressed as Launchpad McQuack from the cartoon Duck Tales, complete with aviator jacket and goggles.

Later in the night, prizes for the costume contest were handed out. Kate won for best Nostalgia, while the prize for 'goriest' went to LT whose zombie costume was horrid enough to turn even the strongest of stomachs. And the prize for best group costume went to Karpowski and her wife Jacklyn, who dressed as Dorothy, the Wicked Witch of the West and her Little Dog Toto played by their nine-month-old son Julian.

The kids' party ended sooner than expected when Corrine's failed attempt at reading Tarot Cards told a girl in their class she would be dead in the next day. Needless to say, the girl went home crying, and Miyana and her best friend locked themselves in her room, too embarrassed to be seen the rest of the night. The rest of the kids trickled home or joined the adults soon after.

The rest of the night was filled with laughter, food, drink and more than a few drunken fortunes told. And when it ended in the wee hours of the morning, everyone went home happy, and the Castle house had more than a few people spending the night.

Rick closes the door on their last guest, the mess left to be cleaned up in the morning, and jumps, letting out a shriek when the decoration by the door goes off.


	37. Designated Parking

**A/N: Because people around this time of year are crazy and sometimes stupid. Be kind to people.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Danielle knew coming to the mall ten days before Christmas was a mistake, but seeing as Alexis and her family had only arrived the night before and still had shopping to do, there was no choice but to come. They were on their third trip around the parking lot and had yet to find a spot. This time of year, they were hard to come by anyway, but especially the handicap spots, which, with Finn tagging along, they needed. She turns down the music, her tweenage niece behind her still singing along to the pop tune, and rounds another corner.

"'Wait! There's one!" McKenna suddenly shouts.

Dani slams on the brakes, shifting into reverse to turn into the spot, not noticing the black sedan in front of them also going for the empty spot until the driver lays on the horn.

"Oh crap! Did I cut her off?" Dani gasps, halfway into the spot.

"No, you're good, she came out of nowhere," Finn replies, turning in her seat to look at the other car.

"Okay," Dani sighs, parking and turning off the car. "Be careful getting out, Cona," she reminds her niece.

"I know," the girl replies, opening the door and getting out. She's halted by her aunt's hand on her chest as the driver of the other car parks in the middle of the road, gets out of her car, and storms up to them.

She's a heavy-set woman wearing black leggings and a pull-over sweatshirt. "Excuse me! That was my spot," she growls.

"I'm sorry I didn't see you, but I think we got here first," Danielle defends, calmly.

"No you didn't, I was here first," the woman insists.

"No, you weren't. There was no one around when I found the spot," McKenna pipes up.

"Hush," Danielle quiets her. "I'm sorry, but we got here first," Danielle says again to the woman.

"Well, you need to move. I have a condition and I need a close parking spot, and these are reserved for handicap parking, which I need and you clearly don't."

"Actually, we do need this spot. For my sister," Danielle says, sneaking a keep at the woman's car, which didn't have a single handicap tag anywhere on it; unlike theirs which had all of the necessary tags they needed.

"She doesn't look disabled," the woman barks, pointing to McKenna, automatically assuming she's the blonde's sister.

"Oh! No, that's my niece," Danielle smiles, watching as Finn rounds the car with her crutches. "That's my sister," Danielle says, setting her jaw.

Cars had started to line up on both side of the aisle and none of them were too pleased to be waiting.

"Look, people are waiting, this is making a scene," Danielle says, brushing her hair out of her face. "I'm sorry I didn't see you, but we're not moving and you need to go find another spot.

"But I clearly got here first, you need to move," the woman insists.

"Hey! What's the problem?" A guy in a black truck calls to them through the open window.

"Oh, just a dispute over a parking spot," Finn explains. "Sorry for the problem."

"Eh, it's alright," the man shrugs. "It happens this time of year. Do you ladies need some help?"

Finn glances between her niece, sister, and the woman arguing with them, and then back to the man. "No, I think we're okay. But if you see someone from Security, could you send them our way?"

"You got it," the man nods, reversing and turning back into the main road; all the cars behind him having left for other areas of the parking lot.

The ones in front of them, however, are piled up even more and were honking and throwing up obscene gestures that Finn hoped McKenna didn't see.

"I'm sure there are other spots open by now," Danielle tries, just wanting the woman to get back into her car and leave them alone.

"But I was here first and need the spot. If you don't move, I will call the cops on you," she threatens.

"Are you threatening me?" Danielle asks. "Are you seriously doing this over a stupid parking spot?"

"Yes, I am. Because it was my spot."

"Nemo, take Stitch inside," Danielle says, not daring to use their actual names, knowing it could potentially be used against them.

"No way, I'm staying," Finn says, stepping up to her sister.

"Okay," Dani, nods, reaching back and handing McKenna the keys. "Here, baby, go sit in the car."

"But-," Cona starts.

"Now, Stitch," Danielle orders. And a second later she disappears inside. "Go ahead, Call the cops. Our mom is a captain on a precinct, she knows everyone, which means we do too."

The woman is close to dialing the number when a security guard pulls up on his cart.

"Ladies, what's the problem? You're holding up traffic," the guard, a tall African American man asks, coming to them.

The large woman starts in on a fast explanation which includes lots of finger pointing and multiple four-letter words.

"Okay, Okay," the guard says, stopping her. "What's your side of the story?" he asks the Castle girls.

"We were looking for a spot, and our niece saw this one and we turned into and there was no one around, but as we got into it, this woman comes up and my sister thought she had cut her off, but she didn't. So we pull in and are getting ready to leave when she parks in the middle of the street, gets out of her car and comes up to us yelling about how we cut her off and this was clearly her spot. But I promise she wasn't here when we got here. This is our spot," Finn describes.

"Okay, well it seems like you girls did nothing wrong," he smiles at them before turning on the woman. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but these ladies were here first and you need to get back into your car and find another spot."

"But I need a close parking spot! I have a condition!" She protests.

"Well I do not see any indication that you need a handicap spot, and these ladies are following every requirement. So, I'm going to have to ask you to move along and find somewhere else to park, or leave."

"These little bitches took my spot! Make them leave!"

"Ma'ma, there is no need for that kind of language," the security guard said. "These girls acknowledged their mistake: they didn't see you. They apologized. You need to move along. I can escort you somewhere else if you'd like."

The woman scowls at them, flips them the bird and stalks back to her car. She speeds off, making dirty faces, her middle finger still extended until she disappears from their line of sight.

"Well, that was interesting," the guard says sarcastically. Both Finn and Danielle have to laugh; what else can you do in that sort of situation?

"Yeah, it was," Finn nods. "Thanks for your help."

"Anytime. Do you ladies need anything else?"

"No, I think we're good. Thanks again," Danielle says, going to the car to rescue her niece who had watched the entire scene through the window. "You can come out now, Cona."

When the younger girl appears, the security guard nods to them. "Well, alright. You ladies have fun today. And if you need anything, just ask for Marcus, okay?"

"We will. Merry Christmas!" Danielle says.

"Merry Christmas!" McKenna echoes.

"Merry Christmas," the guard says, getting back onto his cart and riding off.

"Come on, let's get inside, I'm freezing!" Danielle says, putting a hand on McKenna's back to lead her forward

"What was that all about?" McKenna asks as they walk.

"That lady was upset that we didn't see her and that we didn't give up our spot so she could be lazy and take it away from people who really needed it, like Auntie Finn," Danielle explains.

"But she said she had a medical condition," Cona replies.

"Yes, she did," Finn starts. "And we have no proof that she does or doesn't. But what we do know is that she is not a very nice person. She made a scene when she knew she could just go find another spot. Something inside her mind told her to make a big deal over that spot. She knew full well what she was doing."

"People are dumb," McKenna states, pulling open the door leading into the mall.

"They are," Danielle agrees. "Promise me something, McKenna: that you will always be kind to people no matter what. Stand up for what you believe in and the people you love, but always be kind, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good, now: let's go find Auntie Mia a present, huh?"


	38. First Family Tree

"Hey, Y'all! How're you doin'?" The woman manning the front counter cheerfully asks them as they approach.

"Hey," Austin starts, sliding his infant son from his shoulders into the crook of his arm "We're good, thanks."

"Great! Hey, there, how are you?" she asks the baby, smiling at him. Simon smiles back and babbles at her. "Oh, aren't you sweet!"

Austin chuckles, jiggling the baby in his arms. "Anyway, can we look around for a tree?"

"Oh, of course! You go walk the rows, and when you find the perfect one, come find our of our staff and they'll help you cut it down if you need. And then bring the tag back up here and we'll get you squared away," the woman explains.

"Great, thanks," Austin smiles.

"You welcome. Y'all have fun, okay?" And off her words, Austin thanks her once more and starts to walk away. He only gets a few feet when he hears his name being called.

"Austin! Hey, I got it!" Christine shouts, dashing up to her husband and son, holding up the knitted hat before stuffing it onto Simon's bald head. Thirteen months old, and still nothing more than peach fuzz is on that noggin. "Ready?" She asks.

"Yeah," Austin smiles, taking Christine's hand. The family walks among the others, all of them bundled up against the chilly weather, up and down row upon row of Christmas trees.

This Christmas would be their first official one as a family of three. The previous year, with a colicky newborn in the house, the last thing they wanted to do was put up a tree and go to all the trouble of decorating. So this year, Austin and Christine were determined to make special and amazing for their son.

"What about this one?" Austin asks, pointing to one.

"It's perfect. If we were in a Charlie Brown movie," Christine replies, sarcastically.

"Okay, so not that one," Austin says, continuing on.

Simon wriggles in his arms and after trying to satisfy him for a while, Austin finally sets him on his feet. Walking is still new for the baby, and after the first few stumbling steps, Austin is quick to grab hold of his son's wrist. Christine tales the lead as Simon and Austin make slow, stumbling work for the bumpy path.

"No. Not this one. Too tall. This one? See it? It's too heavy on one side, we'de have to face it that way out the window and have the ugly side closer to us. No, that won't work. My mother would kill me," Christine says as she walks down another row. Austin following behind, rolling his eyes at her comments.

He catches up to her, looping his empty arm around his waist, kissing her cheek. "We're gonna go look," he whispers to her before scooping Simon up and dashing down the rest of the row and disappearing around a corner. Christine is left there, stunned, but continues to inspect the trees closest to her, hoping to find one before her boys do. And after another quarter hour and a few steps to her left, she thinks she may have found it.

"Austin? Austin!" she calls, hoping he may be able to her hear her. Though, when she gets no reply, Christine pick up her cell phone and calls him.

"Hey! Where did you go?" she asks when he answers.

"Oh, we found this playground thing they set up. Slides, a train, a petting zoo. Just some stuff." Christine can hear the casual shrug in his voice.

"Oh, okay. Well, you guys wanna come back? I think I found one."

"Yeah, we'll be there soon. Come on, bud, mommy wants to show us the tree she found." She hears her son start to protest and starts to say something but is cut off by her husband's fleeting reply of "I gotta go" before the line is cut off.

Christine contemplates going to meet then just in case Austin needs help dealing with their son's fit, but ultimately decides to stay put and hold their tree. She doesn't have to wait long, though.

"Mama! Mom!"

Christine could recognize that voice anywhere, and when she looks over, she can't help but smile.

Her husband is holding their son's hands, stance wide, as he walks in front of him. Simon is smiling so wide and giggling as they get closer to her. Christine nods to Austin and she crouches down, he lets go of the toddler's hands and lets Simon walk the last few steps into his mom's outstretched arms alone.

"Oh! Hello, baby! Did you go on an adventure with daddy? Huh? Did you have fun?" Christine asks, listening to her son babble away.

"Tell mommy what we did," Austin prompts, pulling up the photos on the phone. "We went down the slide and pet the animals and saw the snowman."

"Wow, you two had fun, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Simon says with a curt nod. Christine laughs, kissing him.

"Well good. Hey, I think I found our Christmas tree. Tell me what you think," she says, turning to the tree she had found. It was a Concolor Fir a bit taller than six feet. It was fluffy all around and had long, soft needles. Perfect for a small family celebrating their son's 'first' Christmas. "Is it good, baby? Christine asks.

"Yeah," Simon says. "Da da da," he babbles.

"Babe?" Christine asks her husband.

"Yeah, I like it," Austin shrugs.

"Austin! Be serious!" Christine whines. "My mom is already on my back about last year. This one needs to be perfect!"

"It will be perfect," he says, kissing her. "If you love this one, then I love it too. Let's get it," he decides, turning back to find a staff member to help them.

Thirty minutes later, the family, rosy-cheeked with cold fingers, are walking back through the main building to check out.

"Did Y'all find everything okay," the young woman behind the counter, not the perky one that had seen when they were coming in, asks.

"Yeah, we did, thanks."

"Great. Okay, that will be $31.50"

"Okay," Austin nods, sliding his card, watching as his wife and son stand in line for hot chocolate, and out the window as the kind man ties their tree to the roof of their car.

"Just need your signature and you are good to go," the girl says, passing over a pen and the receipt. Austin scribbles his signature, thanks the woman and steps out of line, heading to his family.

"Ready?" Austin asks, taking one of the paper cups and the squirmy child from his wife.

"Yes, let's get out of here," Christine eagerly nods.

Back out in the cold twilight air, Christine breathes deeply, helping the tight, claustrophobic feeling leave her chest.

"Thank you," Austin says, passing the man a generous tip when he finishes tying down the tree. "Merry Christmas."

"You too, man," he replies, with a smile. "Merry Christmas."

Austin starts the car as Christine straps Simon into his car seat, and a few minutes later, they pull away from the curb.


	39. No More Nemo

**A/N: Well. We kinda knew it was bound to happen.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Kate ties the belt of her dressing gown around her waist and sits down at her vanity. She pulls her hair from the messy updo she'd thrown it into so it didn't get wet during her shower and quickly runs a brush through it and then twists sections through her curling iron to fix up the waves she had put into it that morning. It was Date Night and she desperately wanted to look like she hadn't just endured a thirteen hour day at work.

Through the mirror, she sees a figure appear in the crack of the partially opened door; a nose and an eye peeking through, seeing if it is safe to enter.

"Come in," Kate smirks, and the door slowly opens, revealing her youngest daughter. She watches the girl shuffle across the tile. "Pick up your feet," Kate reminds through the mirror, putting lotion over her face and upper body.

Finn heeds her mom's words and her next few steps are less shuffle-like and a more toe-to-heel, proper gait. She stops at the vanity chair, leaning against the back, smiling at her mom through the mirror.

Kate looks back, admiring the girl for a moment: her smile and chipped nail polish and auburn hair, so much like her own, pulled back into a neat ponytail; she seems so much bigger in that second than she had in awhile and it surprises Kate. "Hey, you," Kate smiles. "How are you?"

"Good," Finn shrugs, eyes turned on the floor, face neutral; not her usual perky self.

"Come here," Kate directs, helping her daughter to sit on the lower countertop. "I feel like I haven't seen you in days," she says, meeting the girl's eyes. "Here, your glasses are dirty, let me have them," she says, reaching for the girl's pink frames. She runs the lenses under her towel, holding them up to the light to make sure they're clean before handing them back. "So, how was choir practice today? Did you try out for that solo like you were telling me you might?"

"Yeah," she smiles, starting to look more like herself. "Ms. Martin took us into a practice room by ourselves and we sang it for her and she said the list would be posted on Monday."

"Well I'll keep my fingers crossed," Kate smiles, opening a jar of foundation and pouring some onto the back of her hand.

"I don't think I'll get it though," Finn says. "Audrey Brewster tried out too and she's the best; she'll probably get it."

"Oh, I think you have a good chance of getting it," Kate encourages. "I heard you practicing and you were really good; so don't lose hope just yet."

"Yeah, I guess."

They sit in silence for a few minutes as Kate continues to apply makeup, Finn's feet drum against the cabinets as she watches.

"Want some?" Kate asks, holding up the pan of blush, off her daughter's nod, she pats some onto the brush and onto the girl's cheeks. Finn remains quiet and when Kate pulls back, she sighs and opens her mouth to speak.

"Momma? Did you have a nickname when you were little?" Finn finally starts.

"Yeah," Kate nods. "My mom used to call me Katie Bug, and you know Papa likes to call me just plain Katie, and he used to call me Katie girl. And then when I was in high school my friends called me Bex; I thought I was cool," she says. Finn doesn't say anything, just thinks for a while; Kate returns to fixing her makeup.

"I don't wanna be called 'Nemo' anymore," the sentence was whispered; so quiet, Kate wasn't even sure it had come from her daughter's mouth.

"What?" she asks, making sure she heard what she thought.

"I don't wanna be called 'Nemo' anymore."

"Why? Were the kids at school teasing you? Because if they were, I can talk to people about it."

"No, they weren't. I just want a different nickname."

"But you've been 'Nemo' since you were a baby," Kate says, still in disbelief.

"Yeah. It's a baby name. I'm not a baby anymore. And I know Alexis gave it to me and it's special and everything, I just don't want it anymore."

"Oh, Finn," Kate says, a sullen look crossing her face.

"Don't be mad, momma!" Finn says quickly. "Please don't!"

"No, baby, I'm not mad," Kate says, cupping her daughter's face. "I'm just sad. You and your siblings are growing up. And becoming your own people. It's such a good thing, it just makes me sad because I'll always think of you as my babies." Kate smiles, looking at her daughter; the last of her baby fat still on her cheeks, a tiny face so much like her own. "Okay," she starts, "if you don't want to be called Nemo, what do you want your nickname to be?"

"Just Finn," the girl says. "Or 'Fi', Grace and Kayla says it a good nickname too."

"Fi," Kate says, testing it out. "Okay, I think I can get behind that," Kate smiles.

"Really?" Finn asks, hopeful, smiling for the first time through their conversation.

"Really," Kate nods. "It might take some time, but if it's what you want, we won't call you 'Nemo' anymore."

"Thank you, Momma!" Finn shouts, sliding off the counter and throwing her arms around her mom.

"You're welcome," Kate says. "Now, I think I just heard you pizza get here. Go get some before you brothers eat it all." Finn leaves the bathroom, a new spring in her step, and Kate, slipping into pensive thought, finishes getting ready.

[] []

In the lull between the waiter taking their order and their next conversation starting up, Kate brings up the conversation she and her daughter had earlier that evening. "Finn doesn't want to be called 'Nemo' anymore."

"What?" Castle splutters over his drink. "Why? When did she tell you this?"

"Earlier today when I was getting ready. It looked like it had been on her mind for a while."

"But why? It's always been her nickname."

"I know, and I told her that," Kate agrees. "But she says it's a baby name and she's not a baby anymore. She wants a more grown-up nickname."

"Like what? I don't think we have ever called her anything besides Finn or Nemo ever in her life. Everyone knows her as that!"

"I know," Kate says. It was a huge change, but her daughter wanted it. "She said just use her full name. Or she suggested one that her friends seemed to like: 'Fi'"

"Fi?" Castle asks. "Seriously?"

"Castle! It's what she wants. She just wants to be seen as more grown up. I mean they are going into fifth grade next year. And it will make her so happy."

"I know! But she's Nemo! It's gonna be hard for me to call her something else."

"And I told her that. But I also said we'd try."

"And we will," Castle agrees. "It's just gonna be weird not calling her 'Nemo' anymore."

"Yeah, it is," Kate nods. And then, the waiter arrives with their food.

[] []

The next morning, Castle oversaw the kid's getting ready for school while Kate slept in for a change. He made sure they all brushed their teeth, ate breakfast and had their backpacks packed before they had to leave to catch the bus.

"Wow, Finn! Don't you look pretty today!" he said when his daughter entered the kitchen. He made sure to put extra emphasis on using her name, hoping to show her he was really trying to not use her old nickname

"Thank you," Finn smiles, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Always," her dad smiles back. "Come get some food," he directs, watching as she sits at the table and pours herself a bowl of cereal. Forty minutes later, he's making his wife her morning coffee when the kids leave for the bus.

"Bye, Dad!" Liam calls on his way out the door.

"Bye, Buddy! Have a good day!" Castle says.

"Bye, Dad! Love you!" Finn says, stopping in the kitchen as she follows her siblings.

"Bye, Fi! Love you too! Have a good day."

"I will," Finn says, pausing to hug him on her way. "And thanks for using my new name. I really like it."

"I'm glad you like, baby," Castle says, hugging his daughter back. And a minute later, she's out the door off to school.

He knew it would be hard to not call his youngest daughter by that famous nickname anymore; knew there would be some slip-ups. But to see the smile on Finn's face when he'd made an effort that morning, gave him the drive to keep that smile on her face.


End file.
